Charlie Girl
by sjwmaw
Summary: Charlie is working a case with Sam & Dean when she is de-aged to an 8-year-old. Now she really is the little sister they never wanted. They try and find a way to get her back but when they discover it's not possible decide they will bring her up themselves. She is the cheeky handful you would imagine her to be. (Contains spanking of a minor, so don't read if that's not your thing!)
1. Chapter 1 A bunker life for 3

This story will be AU as having Charlie as a little girl will change things but I will try and keep the amazing characters created by the Supernatural writers in character! Hope you enjoy the story and please review, as I love to get your feedback. This is my first Supernatural fic so I hope I have done the characters justice as I love them!

Chapter 1

Bunker life for 3

Since saying her final goodbye to her mom at the hospital Charlie had been staying at the bunker with Dean and Sam. It had been 4 months now and they had got into a rhythm, Sam and Dean adapting to having a girl about the place and Charlie getting used to sharing her life with 2 large, somewhat over-protective men, who she thought of as brothers. Sam liked having someone to share the research load with and Dean, although he would never admit it, liked having someone else around to take care of. Not just 'someone else', he liked having Charlie around, both of the boys did. She was fun and quirky and she made them laugh and see the world in a different way some times. They really did feel like they had gained a little sister and though they never thought that was something they were missing before, they couldn't imagine their lives without her in them now.

Reluctantly Dean had allowed Charlie to join them on more hunts, although he always tried to persuade her to stay out of the action and stick to the research. He felt very protective of her and if anything serious ever happened to her on a hunt he knew he would never be able to forgive himself. Of course, Charlie was having none of it. She was still learning, but she loved the thrill of the hunt and still talked about it as if it were some kind of adventure. So far she had not only dealt with the leviathan and the djinn, but a poltergeist, who had given her a cracked rib, much to Dean's chagrin, some run of the mill ghosts, a ghoul and a nest of vampires. These she and lured away from Dean by cutting her arm, which had earned her a severe talking to on the journey home. Luckily the distraction had worked though, it gave Sam enough time to grab a syringe of dead man's blood, incapacitating 2 of them before Dean had managed to get free and behead the other 2. Dean had made Charlie promise to never do anything so reckless again or he would not let her come on any more hunts.

This particular morning Dean had slept in uncharacteristically late. It was 9.30 when he made his way into the men of letters library to find Sam and Charlie in their usual positions. Sam sat in front of his laptop, scanning for cases and Charlie curled up in an armchair with some huge old tome on her lap, studiously focused on the page. She had been working her way through the huge library, trying to expand her knowledge of all things supernatural and she had already added 2 or 3 new and slightly more obscure creatures to her database, which was the envy of Sam.

'Morning nerds.' Dean said coming to look over Sam's shoulder and slurping on his coffee. 'You found something?'

'The kraken awakes!' Chirped Charlie, causing Sam to grin and Dean to scowl and look slightly offended.

Sam laughed 'We were about to come and check you hadn't been abducted or something. It's pretty late for you Dean.'

'Yeah well I had to finish season 2 of the game of thrones before I got to bed at about 4.00.'

'Hey you shoulda told me. I'd have watched it with you.' Complained Charlie.

'You've seen it like a hundred times already Charlie and I didn't want any of your spoilers.'

'What? I wouldn't do that.' She pouted

Sam and Dean just looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. In her enthusiasm it was very hard to stop Charlie spilling the beans about any show that she'd watched before. She just couldn't help herself!

'Ok, well maybe...' She admitted. "Hey Dean where's MY coffee?!" She demanded gesturing towards the steaming mug which Dean was holding.

'There's plenty in the pot, you know where the kitchen is.' He grumbled, but Charlie knew he would give in and get her coffee if she played up her recent sprained ankle from the last ghost hunt. It wasn't bad, barely even noticeable, but Dean's immediate guilt at either her or Sammy getting hurt on his watch guaranteed a bit of pampering if she played her cards right. She gave a slight grimace as she shifted in her chair feigning to get up and it didn't go unnoticed by Dean.

'Your ankle still playing up?' He said gruffly.

'No don't worry about me Dean, it's not that bad.' Charlie attempted to get up and Dean pushed her back down.

'Don't make it worse. Sam will get your coffee.'

'What?!' Sam protested. 'You get it, I'm researching here.'

Dean huffed, admitting defeat and shuffled off to the kitchen to fill 2 mugs for Charlie and Sam.

Sam glanced over at Charlie with a smirk 'That was cruel.'

Charlie smirked back. 'Oh he's too easy, I can't help myself. You know he likes looking after us anyway, I wouldn't wanna deprive him of his life's purpose by getting my own coffee.'

'Seriously though, is your ankle ok?' Sam asked.

'Yeah, I can barely notice it. How come it's always me who gets hurt on every hunt?! You and Dean barely get away with a scratch, except when you die of course!' She grinned.

'I can't work out if it's because you're so tiny and easy to squash or if it's because you sparkle so much the monsters can't miss you.' Dean commented with a huge smirk on his face as he came back with the coffee.

Charlie frowned and poked her tongue out at him. 'Sparkle?! I do not sparkle Dean!'

'You admit you are tiny then?' He teased.

' No, just not unnaturally huge like the two of you!'

'Stop bickering you two, come and look. I think I've found us a case' Sam said as Charlie and Dean moved to stand either side of him and look at the webpage he had open.

'Colfax, New Mexico, 4 women in the last week have been found disintegrated, just a pile of clothes left behind and no body except for, get this, police forensics found what appears to be a small amount of semen and an egg, as in a human egg...'

'Ugh, gross!' Exclaimed Charlie and Dean simultaneously and then smirked at each other.

'So what are you thinking? A witch?' Asked Dean, 'I can't think what else could turn back time like that.'

'Yeah, that was my thinking and apparently there are a lot of Wiccans in that area. Modern day pagans, some of whom practice witchcraft.'

'So, let's go, we should check it out.' Said Charlie, with her usual enthusiasm 'it'll be cool to meet a real-life witch.'

'Let me tell you kiddo, there is nothing cool about witches at all. They're always spewing their bodily fluids all over the place, case in point, semen and an actual human egg, doesn't get more gross!'

'That's how we all started off Dean.' Sam said matter of factly.

Dean just pulled a face 'Yeah alright Mr Sex-ed, how are we gonna find our witch if there are so many of them in that place?'

'I already thought of that, I looked at all the victims and they all have one thing in common. They are on the PTA of Raton elementary school.'

'The PTA' Dean said disparagingly, 'a hotbed of paganism, I always knew it.'

'What are we waiting for? Let's go.' Charlie said turning on her heel about to head to her room and pack.

'Hold it kiddo, I think you should stay here. The victims are all women, we are not about to let you rush in there and get disintegrated.'

Charlie rolled her eyes 'In case you hadn't noticed Dean, I'm not on the PTA, I don't fit the profile.'

'That may just be a coincidence they could just be after women. You should stay here and you can back us up with research when we find out what we need to know.'

'Dean, I'm coming so suck it up!' Charlie snapped and then stormed off leaving Dean to roll his eyes this time.

'Dean you've got to let her do this. She's getting more experienced and she's one of us now. You can't keep on trying to protect her.' Sam said gently.

'Says who?,' grunted Dean and he too stormed off. 'We're leaving in 30 minutes so get your ass into gear.' He yelled over his shoulder. Sam sighed and went off to his own room to pack, resigned to an uncomfortable car ride, with a prickly Dean and a put-out Charlie.

As predicted the majority of the car ride wasn't much fun, but at least with Dean driving it only took 6 hours instead of the 7 and a half it should have taken. Charlie sat in the back with her headphones on, studiously ignoring Dean and refusing to meet his eyes in the rearview mirror. After 5 hours Dean finally relented and apologised.

'Charlie look kiddo, it's not because I don't think you can do it. I know you can, you've had our backs enough times by now. I just don't want anything to happen to you on my watch. You know you're like my kid sister, it's my job to keep you safe and this overgrown dork here.' He said gesturing to Sammy.

Charlie smiled and blushed. She definitely saw Sam and Dean as her brothers but that was the first time Dean had called her his sister and it made her happy to hear him say that.

'I know Dean, thanks, but I'm a big girl. You don't need to worry about me.'

Dean raised his eyebrows in a gesture which said he didn't exactly agree with that, but he said no more on the subject.

They pulled up to the 'Good Nite' motel and got a triple room. Dean had insisted on that much, not wanting Charlie off in her own room unprotected. It was 7pm so they went to the next-door diner to get some dinner and discuss their next move.

'We need to talk to the remaining members of the PTA, find out who's into black magic and who has it in for the ones that were killed.' Suggested Sam.

'Sure, do we go as FBI or what?' Asked Charlie with more than a hint of excitement. Dean glared at her and she tried to dampen down her smile to appease him.

'Charlie.' He warned. 'This is not a game, these witches are nasty and if we rub them up the wrong way we'll be the next ones turned into tadpoles. It's serious stuff.'

'Come on Dean, she knows that.' Sam spoke up for Charlie. 'It's not like you don't get a kick out of it sometimes either.'

Dean just herumphed and Charlie smiled. 'S'ok Dean I'll follow your lead. You're in charge all the way, 100%.'

Dean carried on as if none of that conversation had just happened. 'So we rock up to tomorrow nights' PTA meeting and check things out. I'm sure they'll talk to the FBI.'

'Maybe we should talk to the families of the victims tomorrow, see if they can shed any light on it.' Said Sam.

'Good thinking Gandalf.' Charlie said calling Sam by her favourite nickname.

'Yeah thanks Frodo.'

'Frodo?! Why don't I get to be Galadriel?'

'Sorry you're too short for an elf, you make a much better hobbit.'

Charlie was just puffing herself up to protest when Dean cut them short 'Alright dorkfest. Let's head back to the motel and get some rest. There's bound to be some crap film on cable to send us off to sleep.'

The next day the three of them interviewed the 4 grieving families and the common factor seemed to be the arrival of a new mother at the school, who was keen to take over the running of the PTA and change the way things were done at the school. The 4 women had been the chair of the PTA, the deputy, the treasurer and the secretary. No coincidence there and the lady in question had already stepped in as stand-in chair.

'Do people really get this hung up over the PTA?' Charlie asked incredulously as they left the 4th house and heard yet more tales of Maggie Parkins, who was the woman in question.

'Apparently so. All we have to do now is find out if she really is a Witch...' Said Sam.

'I say we check out her house while she's at the meeting this evening.'

'Maybe I should do that while you two go and speak to the PTA? It would still be good to check them out, just in case it's not her.' Charlie suggested.

'You ain't going there alone.' Dean protested 'You and Sam go to the meeting and I'll go to the house.'

Exasperated Charlie glared at Dean 'Dean she'll be at the meeting, I'll be perfectly safe. Besides those women are more likely to talk to you two handsome dudes than me, you know it.'

'She has a point, Dean, and with the witch at the meeting it'll just be a fact-finding mission, no danger involved.'

'Ok, but if there's any sign of danger, you get out of there, you hear me?'

Charlie gave him a salute 'Sir, yes sir.' Dean glared at her.

'I'm serious Charlie, no risks.'

Charlie straightened her face 'I promise Dean, I'll be careful.' She said giving his arm a squeeze.

After a Chinese takeaway and a change of clothes they headed out. Dean dropped Charlie off at the nearest bus stop to Margaret Parkins' house and told her to wait for word from him that she was at the meeting before going to the house. 15 minutes later Charlie's phone beeped and Dean's text popped up.

'She's here. Be careful!'

She texted back a quick 'OK' and headed down the street to number 25, which was the house in question. It was a normal, 3-bed detached house in a quiet street, about 10 years old maybe and perfectly respectable looking.

'Appearances can be deceptive' Charlie thought to herself as she approached the side door, which opened into the kitchen. She fiddled with Sam's lock pick he had lent her and after quite a lot of swearing the lock finally gave way and she entered the dark house, listening intently in case anyone was in. The place was silent and she concluded that she had the place to herself, but still crept quietly around the house, using her torch rather than turning on the lights. It all looked perfectly normal. Like any run of the mill, middle class house. No creepy frogs legs in jars or potions on the shelf. No weird-ass pets or hex bags and not a broomstick to be seen. After searching upstairs and finding nothing untoward Charlie was about to give up, when she noticed a door under the stairs.

'Aha! She thought to herself, a cellar. The perfect place for a witch's den, this has to be it!' She crept down the stairs, this time switching on the light since nobody would see from the outside. She stepped down into a room with bare walls and a bare concrete floor, but in the corner was some kind of altar. A table, covered with a purple cloth and on it some black symbols, which left her in no doubt that this really was a witch's lair. She cringed as she examined the items on the table. A large stone dish containing some small bones, some dried up twigs and a gold watch, all covered in sticky red liquid, which just had to be blood, sat in the middle of the table. Around it were 2 lit candles, their flames flickering and making shadows on the wall behind, as well as a large leather bound book, with spidery old looking writing on the open page, which was thick and yellowing. It had to be a spell book and this had to be how she was turning these people into nothing. Hanging over the bowl was a green pendant on a thick black chain. It was almost glowing it was so shiny and Charlie felt the urge to reach out and touch it, but she could almost hear Dean's voice in her head telling her not to do anything stupid! She knew what she had to do. First she blew out the candles, then with all her strength she pushed the table so it was flung onto its side. The contents of the bowl were scattered over the floor but the pendant was still hanging there from a hook on the ceiling and so she grabbed hold of it to yank it down, not wanting to risk the spell continuing because she had left the vital part intact. But as she clasped the green gem she felt a strange sensation flow down her arm and through her whole body, then there was a blinding green light and she fell to the ground with a scream before all went blank.


	2. Chapter 2 - Little Charlie

**Thank you so much for all those who are following or have favourited this story and especially to those who reviewed. I already have a few chapters mostly written, so updates will probably not always be this quick. Please read and review!**

Chapter 2

Little Charlie

The next thing she knew she was waking up in the back of a car with her head in the lap of a strange man. Well, she didn't know who he was but he somehow felt familiar to her, as did the sound of the car and the other man who was driving. The man in the back with her had longish brown hair and seemed pretty tall, though it was hard to tell as he was sitting down. His hazel eyes looked down at her.

'Charlie?' He asked as he brushed her hair out of her face.

Ok, he was being kind and gentle with her, even if he did get her name wrong. He didn't feel like someone she should be scared of, even though everything just felt strange. She couldn't remember how she had got here and didn't know what was going on. Where were her mom and dad and why was she wearing nothing but a t-shirt which was several sizes too big for her? She tried to sit up, but the man gently pushed her shoulder back down.

'Don't try to sit up. You hit your head pretty bad, it's better if you stay lying down for a bit.'

''Where am I? What's going on? Where are my parents?' She asked and noticed the long haired man glancing meaningfully at the other man who was driving. He had shorter, slightly blonder hair and from what she could tell in the mirror he had green eyes.

'It's ok Charlie, you're safe. We're on our way back to the bunker, which is where you live, where we all live.' Said the driver.

Charlie's eyes grew wide. The bunker? What on earth was this guy talking about. She lived with her mom and dad in a house in Kansas and she definitely didn't live with these 2 men.

'Who are you? Are you kidnapping me?' She said trying to be brave but her voice wobbled and she was pretty close to tears right now.

'Hey, hey Charlie, it's ok. You've had a bit of a shock and your head is not straight right now but I promise you do know us and we're not kidnapping you. I'm Sam and that's my brother Dean. You got hit by a witch's spell and it's kind of changed you.' Sam explained awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say.

The fact was when Charlie had grabbed the amulet she had been de-aged by 20 years to an 8-year-old. Thankfully she had broken the altar and so the power was diminished otherwise things could have been a lot worse and she would not have lived to tell the tale.

'My name is Celeste, not Charlie, why do you keep calling me that?' She asked in her small childish voice.

'That's what we know you as. It's kind of hard to explain. You were older before, you were 28 years old and the spell made you little. How old are you now?'

'You're crazy!' She protested, trying to sit up again and this time Sam didn't stop her as he didn't want to scare her, but she winced as a pain shot through her head and she shifted to sit at the opposite end of the backseat and rest her head against the window.

'I know it sounds really crazy but it's true. When you are older you change your name to Charlie and you don't live with your parents anymore.' Dean explained. Of course, he didn't want to tell her that her parents were actually dead.

'Why should I believe you?' She demanded. Dean was pretty impressed that she wasn't just crying by now. She was only little and suddenly she was in a car with 2 apparent strangers who were talking about spells and witches and telling her she was actually 28 years old and her name had changed.

She was feeling scared and confused but somehow she kind of did know that these guys were telling the truth and despite her protest she did believe them, which was all kinds of crazy! She had scrunched herself up into a ball, hugging her knees as some kind of self-protection.

'My name is Celeste and I want to go back home, please?!' She said in a quiet, pleading voice.

'Ch...Celeste.' Sam said gently 'I know this is all a big shock to you and it's hard to believe, but we are taking you home. Your home is with us now and I promise you can trust us. You are family and we love you and we will take care of you until we can figure out a way to break the witch's spell and bring you back.' Charlie responded to Sam's calm voice and she looked over at him. In all this strangeness there was an underlying feeling that she could trust these men. They were so familiar and they did feel like family. But what about her mom and dad? Something was very wrong there, she could just tell by the way they kept avoiding the subject.

'Where are my mom and dad? Did they get hurt by the witch too?'

Sam's heart clenched as he looked at the brave little girl, who he only knew as a brave young woman. How was he gonna tell her her parents were dead?!

'No, the witch didn't get them.' Dean replied, looking at Charlie in the mirror and feeling a wave of guilt that he had let this happen and she was going to have to relive her parents' deaths all over again. She was just a little kid right now, it wasn't fair.

'We're nearly back home, kiddo. We'll explain things a bit better when we get there, ok?' He said gently holding her gaze.

She nodded 'Ok' When he called her kiddo it felt somehow comforting. It felt right and she could tell that these guys were sincere. So if what they were saying was true she was really meant to be 28 years old! Man that was old! And she wasn't Celeste any more, she was Charlie?! She had never liked her name so she wasn't surprised that she had changed her name when she grew up. Charlie was cool and she kind of liked it.

Sam reached across and took her hand as he could see her brain whirring. He gave it a gentle squeeze and she managed a small smile at him in return.

'I'm 8' she said, answering his earlier question.

'Wow, 8 years old' Sam let out a breath and shook his head 'Man this is all so weird, but we will sort it out Char...Celeste.'

'You can call me Charlie if you like, it's cool. Celeste doesn't suit me anyhow, it's too girly.'

Sam smiled 'OK then, Charlie it is. You'll be ok Charlie. We'll figure this out.'

'This is so bizarro, I feel like I've gone through the wardrobe into Narnia or something!'

Sam and Dean laughed at her fantasy-book reference. It was just so Charlie.

'Well you're still a nerd at 8, so one thing hasn't changed.' Dean scoffed.

Charlie scrunched up her little face in indignation. 'Hey!' She protested.

'Dean, she's just a little girl, be nice.'

'I'm not just a little girl!'

'Sorry, I just meant he can't talk to you the same way he did to 28-year-old you.'

'Gosh, none of this makes sense. I wish I could close my eyes and wake up and it all be back to normal.' Charlie said and felt tears prick her eyes as she was overwhelmed with all that had happened. She turned her face to the window hoping that Sam wouldn't notice the tears rolling down her cheeks. Of course, Sam being Sam, he did notice and took hold of her hand again, giving it a gentle squeeze and running his thumb over the back of it.

'It'll be ok Charlie.' She turned her head to look up at him and he gently pulled her along the seat so she was right next to him and put an arm around her shoulder. She leaned her head against his chest and let some more tears fall as he rubbed his thumb over her shoulder.

Dean glanced at them in the mirror and frowned. Poor kid. What were they going to do if they couldn't turn her back? They couldn't look after an 8-year-old child could they? But they couldn't very well dump her in some kids home either. No way, this was their fault and they had to deal with the consequences.

When they got back to the bunker Charlie was suitably impressed as she had been the first time she saw it.

'Wow, this is so awesome!' She exclaimed in her new little voice, which even Dean had to admit was pretty cute. In fact, all in all she was quite a cute little bundle, with her long red, slightly wavy hair, big green eyes and her smaller than average body with skinny arms and legs only just protruding from one of his white t-shirts.

'Let me show you to your room and then we can go get you some clothes. You can't walk around dressed like that the whole time and all your stuff is way too big now.' Said Sam.

'Ok.' She said, surprising Sam by grabbing his hand as he led her to her old room. Since she had been living there for a few months she had made it her own. There were fairy lights strung up above the bed and around the mirror on the dresser. Next to that was a pin board with photos and favourite quotes from Tolkien and Game of Thrones. On the bed was a bright yellow blanket with multi-coloured dots and she had a round, rainbow-coloured rug on the floor. It was bright, cheerful and quirky just like Charlie.

'I thought you said I was grown up?' Charlie asked, looking at what appeared to be a young girls room!

Sam laughed 'Yeah, you were 28 but you were still young at heart!'

Charlie moved over to look at the board. There were photos of her with Sam and Dean and with Garth and one of Cas. In the corner was a small tattered photo of her mom and dad.

'That's me?' She asked pointing to one of herself with the boys, though it was more of a statement than a question. Sam nodded 'It's weird seeing myself like that. I guess it's proof you told me the truth.' Sam smiled and shrugged. 'I already believed you anyway. I feel like I do know you and Dean even though I can't remember you exactly. Why don't I have any new photos of my mom and dad? This is what they look like now, they must have got older like me.'

Sam cleared his throat, not quite knowing how to answer, then realised he was going to have to tell her the truth. 'Come sit down a minute.' Sam said, sitting on the bed and gesturing for Charlie to sit next to him. Charlie looked at him warily sensing this was something bad. She sat and stared up at Sam with big fearful eyes.

'I'm really sorry Charlie but your parents, they died in a car accident when you were 12.' Sam said placing a hand on her knee.

'No!' Charlie shouted. 'No they can't be dead!' She jumped up off the bed and ran to grab the photo off the board clutching it to her chest. Tears were streaming down her face by now and Sam got up to wrap his arms around her small shaking body.

'I'm sorry Charlie, I'm so sorry. It's so much to take in I know.' He rubbed her back and carried her over to the bed lifting her onto his lap continuing to soothe her and stroke her rhythmically as she sobbed into his chest and clung onto his shirt with her fists as if hanging on for dear life. Dean walked in after about 5 minutes.

'Hey guys what's taking so long?' He began, before taking in the scene. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of Charlie sobbing on Sam's lap. He looked at Sam silently asking for an explanation.

'I told her about her parents.' Sam mouthed. Dean grimaced and approached Charlie, putting his hand on the top of her head.

'I'm sorry kiddo, sorry you had to go through it all a second time.' Charlie sniffled, then looked up at Dean and hesitated only a moment before jumping off of Sam's lap and throwing her arms around his waist. 'Woah kiddo, it's ok.' He said gently, stroking her hair, surprised at her reaction. Charlie had always been a hugger and she was one of the few people Dean didn't mind hugging, but seeing as mini Charlie didn't really know him, he had not been expecting that response from her.

Charlie's tears finally subsided, but she wasn't ready to let go of Dean or Sam. It was like she needed their touch right now for security and she didn't want to be left alone.

'I wish I could have said goodbye.' She said quietly, sitting back down on the bed, as close as possible to Sam, so that their legs were touching and holding onto Dean's Jeans pocket.

'I know sweetheart, but they knew you loved them and they never stopped loving you. You have to hold onto that.' Charlie nodded at Dean's words.

'Can you tell me what happened to me? I mean how did I end up like this when I was big before?'

'Well you weren't exactly big kiddo, just older.' Dean smirked.

'Dean!' Sam admonished.

Charlie rolled her eyes at Dean and ignored his comment 'I mean, I know it was a witch, but what actually happened?'

'We were on a case in Colfax, New Mexico...' Began Sam.

'A case? Are you guys police?'

'Not exactly.' Dean laughed.

'We're hunters and big you was a hunter too. We hunt down ghosts and monsters and all those kind of bad things and we get rid of them, to keep people safe.'

'You mean all that stuff is real?!' Charlie exclaimed in excitement 'That is so cool!'

'You're just as crazy as your grown-up self. She gets excited about all the wrong things too.' Dean grumbled.

'So you…we, were hunting a witch in Colfax?'

'Uh huh, this witch had already killed 4 people by disintegrating them, turning them back to before they were born.'

'Weird,'

'Weird is normal for us. Anyhow, you went to check out the suspected witch's house while Dean and I went to talk to her and the rest of the PTA who were the ones she'd been bumping off. We're not sure what happened exactly, but when we couldn't get ahold of you we went back to the witch's house to look for you and we found you unconscious and buried under a pile of your old clothes and you were little. When you were destroying the witch's spell you must have got zapped by it too, but it wasn't as strong as it had been for the others because you had already destroyed some of it. While we were picking you up the witch returned and we had to kill her so that she couldn't go on and kill anybody else.'

'Yeah at least we got that bitch...'

'Dean! Charlie's just a little kid, you can't talk like that around her.'

Charlie sniggered and Dean winked at her.

'So how do I get turned older again?' Charlie asked.

'Good question sweetheart. That's what we need to look into, but first things first, we need to go out and get you some clothes to wear and get us all some lunch, I'm starving! You hungry kiddo?'

Charlie nodded and smiled at Dean.

'Ok, let's go then. You'd better put some of your old shorts on or something and tie them with a belt. You can't really go shopping wearing Dean's t-shirt and nothing else.' Sam pointed out.

'Ok.' Charlie began rummaging through the drawers and found a pair of jersey shorts with a cord at the waist, which she managed to pull tight enough to keep them up, although they could barely be seen under Dean's enormous t-shirt.

At the nearest Walmart Dean grabbed a cart and they headed straight for the kids' clothes.

'Go wild kiddo. I don't know how long you're gonna be stuck like this but I'm guessing it's gonna take us a few days at least to track down a way to change you. Pick out 4 or 5 outfits to start with.'

Charlie grinned 'Really? I get to choose whatever I want?'

'Sure.' Said Dean with a smile.

Charlie of course went straight for the novelty t-shirts! She picked out a variety of them including one with Rainbow Dash and one with Yoda. Next she grabbed 2 pairs of jeans, one pink and one dark purple, then a rainbow coloured skirt and a denim skirt and some black and purple leggings. She picked up one flowery summer dress in case she felt like being pretty and she chose some spotty pink and yellow socks and some my little pony underwear. Lastly 2 pairs of pyjamas, one with a unicorn and the other with princess Leah and a pair of shoes. Sam told her to get a sweater and Dean found a cute black leather jacket for her, which they both agreed on.

'So much stuff! Do I have money to pay for all this?' Charlie asked peering earnestly up at Sam and Dean. It had only just occurred to her that she was meant to be a grown up so she was going to have to pay for all her new clothes.

Sam smiled fondly at her and Dean grinned ruffling her hair. 'Don't worry about that kiddo, we've got it covered.'

Charlie blushed and felt tears prick her eyes again. Her mom always took her shopping for clothes before and she and her dad had paid for them. Now her mom would never take her shopping again and she would never see her or her dad again.

A single tear escaped down her cheek and Dean looked panicked, unsure as to why him offering to pay for her stuff had started the waterworks, but Sam seemed to understand that she was thinking about her parents, understandably since their death was still so fresh for her. He knelt down in front of her gently wiping the tears from her cheek with his thumb and cupped her face with his hand.

'It's ok to cry Charlie. You must really miss them?'

Charlie nodded and let another silent tear fall, although she was bravely trying to hold them back. Sam pulled her into him and she leaned her head on his shoulder, allowing herself to cry a bit more. Sam rubbed her back and made soothing noises 'Its ok Honey, it'll be ok. You're such a brave girl.'

Dean watched on amazed at how good Sam was at this. He had never had much to do with kids and yet he had always been in touch with his softer side and this was Charlie after all. She may be little now but this was still her and she and Sam had formed a close friendship, like siblings. So it wasn't so surprising that he felt able to deal with her like this. Dean and her were close too of course but he was better at showing his love through action and not through words. He went over and laid a gentle hand on Charlie's head, causing her to look up at him with a tear streaked face.

'What do you say we go and pay for all this and then you can go get changed in the bathroom before we go get lunch?'

She nodded and held out her hand for him to take as Sam stood up from the floor and took charge of the cart. Dean squeezed her hand and led her towards the checkouts.

'Sam's right Charlie, you really are one brave little girl.'

'I don't feel brave Dean. I feel sad and scared.' She said honestly in her small voice.

Dean's heart clenched at her simple heartfelt statement.

'Of course you are kiddo, that's what makes you so brave cos you're here and carrying on walking and talking anyway. You are about the bravest kid I've ever seen, but I shouldn't be surprised. Big Charlie is one of the bravest people I know too.'

Charlie smiled at the compliment. She cared what Dean thought of her for some reason and it was nice that he thought her brave.

Once they were checked out Charlie took her clothes and went to change in the store's bathroom. Dean and Sam waited for her outside.

'Man, this is so weird! Do you think we are gonna find a way to change her back Dean?' Sam asked.

'Course we are Sammy, we have to. What's the alternative? We sure as hell have no clue about raising a kid and we ain't sending her off to some kids home or something.'

'Well Dean, you did practically raise me, so you do have some experience, not like me. I don't have a clue about kids!'

'Looked like you were doing a pretty good job there earlier. You've got that mothering instinct or something.'

'Shut up Dean, you're an idiot. Seriously what are we gonna do if we can't change her back?!'

'Let's cross that bridge if we come to it. For now we just need to look after her and try our damnedest to get her back. It's our problem and we need to fix it.'

'Ta da!' Said Charlie as she came out of the changing room wearing her Rainbow Dash t-shirt, purple leggings and jean skirt, along with the pink sparkly sneakers she had chosen.

Sam smiled and Dean was reminded of the time he had taken her shopping for fbi clothes.

'All ready Charlie?' Sam asked.

She nodded and went to stand next to Sam taking his hand. It seemed to have become normal for her to hold one or other of their hands or be close to be holding onto them in one way or another, but Charlie always had been pretty tactile, so Sam and Dean weren't that surprised.

'You look good kiddo. So, burger ok for lunch?' Dean asked.

Charlie scrunched her nose up in distaste and shrugged.

'You don't like burgers?!' Dean exclaimed as if he'd never heard anything so strange. Charlie shook her head. 'Who ever heard of a kid that didn't like burgers?!'

'Dean if we go to the diner up the road she can order whatever she likes, it doesn't have to be a burger.' Sam said, noticing Charlie looking a bit abashed.

'Sure. Sorry kid, old Charlie pretty much ate anything! Still getting used to mini you.' Dean said with a wink to reassure the little girl. He was rewarded with a small grin.

After lunch they headed back to the bunker to get started on researching a way to reverse the spell. Sam pulled out several books about hexes and curses and spell breaking and brought them to the table in the men of letters main room. Dean was in the kitchen grabbing some beers and Charlie sat at the table her legs swinging, not really sure what to do.

'Sam, can I help?' She asked as he looked up from the large brown book he was starting to look through.

'I don't know if you should really be looking at these books Honey, there's some pretty heavy stuff in them and it's not really suitable for little kids.'

Charlie pouted and huffed 'I'm 8, I'm not that little and I CAN read you know!' She protested. 'It'll go quicker if you let me help.'

'I'm with Sam on this kiddo, it ain't Narnia or Winnie the Pooh. It's serious stuff and you shouldn't be reading it.' Dean added coming in from the kitchen and handing Sam a beer.

Charlie frowned. She was not impressed at them stopping her reading the books. She could help and maybe find a way to get things back how they should be.

'It is for me, I should be able to help.' She stood up now, putting her hands on her hips to emphasise her point.

'You can help by letting us get on with it.' Dean said sternly.

'Why don't you find something to watch on Netflix or something.?' Sam suggested more gently.

'What is Netflix?!' She grumbled.

'It's kind of like a tv channel, it has loads of kids stuff on there. You can watch it in my room or you can watch it on the iPad.'

Charlie was still not impressed. She stamped her foot in irritation.

'I don't want to watch stupid tv, I want to help researching a way to get big me back.'

'Hey girlie, you can drop the attitude. Sam and me are the adults here and if we say it ain't safe for you to do something you don't do it. We are only looking out for you and if you can't do as you are told you will face the consequences.'

Charlie bit her lip. She didn't like Dean being so stern with her. She wondered what the consequences would be, but she was pretty sure she wouldn't like them. When her dad talked about consequences it usually meant being grounded or if it was really bad, a spanking. She didn't want Dean to do either of those things. She looked down at her feet and chose not to answer back, although it was really what she wanted to do.

'Sorry.' She mumbled.

'Ok, so what's it to be? You wanna go watch tv in Sam's room, or here with us? or is there something else you want to do?' Dean asked more gently.

Charlie shrugged. 'Can I sit in here and read a book? Not one of those, a normal book?'

'Sure you can Honey. I've got the hobbit or the Harry Potter books in my room.' Sam offered.

'Harry who?!' She looked up at him.

'Of course, they weren't written when you were 8! You are in for a treat! I know for a fact that you're going to love them. I'll go get the first one for you.'

'Thanks Sam.' She said smiling at his excitement. She could definitely sense a fellow geek in Sam.

Things went better after that. Charlie curled up in her usual armchair and read Harry Potter while Sam and Dean scanned the old, slightly scary looking books on the table.

After an hour Sam went to get more beers. Charlie looked up from her book as he came back in.

'Can I have one?' She asked.

'Yeah, I don't think so kiddo.' Dean scoffed before Sam could get a word in, 'I'm not giving an 8 year old beer!'

Charlie rolled her eyes 'My dad sometimes lets me have a sip of his.'

'Yeah well you can have a sip of mine or Sam's, when you're back to being 28. Till then you can have a soda or some water.'

Charlie pouted again. 'I'll get you a soda. do you want coke or 7up?' Sam asked, smiling at the pout on Charlie's face. 8 year old Charlie was turning out to be quite feisty and quite funny to watch!

'7up please.' She answered begrudgingly.

Sam came back with the soda and they all resumed their original tasks. Another 2 hours went by and Charlie suddenly realised she was hungry again. It must be dinner time.

'Dean, I'm hungry can I get something to eat?' Charlie asked coming to stand next to him at the table.

Dean looked up at her then at his watch. 'Wow, 7.00 already, I guess it is dinner time.' He stood up and Charlie slipped her hand into his as he led her into the kitchen.

'Sandwich alright kiddo?'

'Yes, thanks Dean.' He started getting stuff out of the fridge and he turned around to find she had hopped up onto the counter and was sitting there watching him.

'Hey, off of there girlie, sit on a chair!' He said firmly, but not as sternly as he had spoken to her earlier. Immediately she jumped off and sat on a chair chewing on her lip.

'It's ok Charlie, you're not in trouble, I just don't want you sitting on the counters. You might fall off and they're not meant for sitting on anyway.'

Charlie rolled her eyes. 'I won't fall off Dean..'she scoffed.

'That, on the other hand, might get you into trouble.' He said giving her a stern glare.

'What?!' She asked her green eyes wide with horror.

'Rolling your eyes at me for one.'

She almost rolled her eyes again at that, but stopped herself in time. Dean turned back to his sandwich making and she rolled her eyes quickly, grinning to herself as she did so. 'Ham or cheese?'

'Ham please.'

Dean plopped a plate with a delicious looking ham and tomato sandwich in front of her and a glass of milk. She grabbed it with two hands and began eating straight away. 'Thanks.' She said through her mouthful. Just as Sam walked in.

'Hey, don't talk with your mouth full!' He protested. Sam was hot on things like table manners apparently, he had already told her the same thing in the diner at lunchtime, and he had told her to use her cutlery instead of eating her fries with her fingers.

'Sorry' she said when she had finished swallowing. 'I'm just so hungry!'

'Me too actually. Hey did you make me one too Dean?'

'Get your own, Sasquatch! Stuff's all here.'

Dean sat opposite Charlie and munched his cheese and ham sandwich while Sam put together a cheese salad sandwich for himself.

'So no joy yet I guess?' Dean asked Sam, with his mouthful of sandwich.

'Don't talk with your mouth full Dean!' Said Charlie with a cheeky grin. Sam laughed and Dean made a face at her.

'No nothing yet, you?'

'Zilch. Next step is to ask Cas I guess. He may be able to do something. I know he's not exactly to be trusted right now, but he is still powerful.' Said Dean. After the way Castiel betrayed them Dean was still not sure how to feel about him. He was family but he had let them down badly.

'I guess so.'

'Who's Cas?' Charlie asked innocently.

'He's an angel.' Sam said sitting at the table with his sandwich.

'Seriously?! A real-life angel, like with a halo and wings and a shiny face and stuff?!' Charlie said her eyes bright with excitement.

Dean rolled his eyes 'Not exactly, but yes he is an angel. He has wings but you can't usually see them, but no halo, no shiny face. He is...was...our friend and he helps us out sometimes.'

'He may be able to get you back to normal Charlie.' Sam explained.

Charlie nodded pushing her plate away as she finished her sandwich. 'I'm done, can I get down?' She asked, remembering what her mom had taught her.

'Yeah kiddo, put your plate by the sink and then you can go wash up for bed.'

'Bed?! It's only 7.30, I go to bed at 8.00, 8.30 sometimes.'

'Well, by the time you're in your pyjamas and brushed your teeth it will be about 8.00.' Dean said.

'Come on Charlie, I'll come with you.' Sam said and took her hand leading the pouting girl to her bedroom. It had a bathroom adjoining the room so Sam sat on her bed and waited while she went to get changed, brush her teeth and do her business.

'All ready?' He asked smiling at the small girl in her princess Leah pyjamas. She nodded.

'Sam, will you read to me? Mommy always read to me at bedtime. I'm scared to go to sleep without her.' She said almost in a whisper as a tear spilled over and down her cheek.

Sam gently rubbed her shoulder and pulled the covers up over her. 'Of course I will Honey. Shall I read you more Harry Potter?'

'Yes please, I only have 2 chapters left of the first book. It's really awesome. I wish I could be brave and go on adventures like Hermione.'

Sam laughed 'Well, you know, big you is also a great fan of Hermione and she does go on adventures like her, so you will one day. And you are brave already, so you don't even need to wait for that.'

Charlie grinned at that and she snuggled into Sam's side as he read her the end of the book. She was almost asleep by the time he finished and he tucked her in as she snuggled down onto the pillows. He stroked her hair back from her face and wasn't sure whether to give her a kiss or not. Dean was really better at all this. He was the father material, not him. But this was Charlie and he loved her and she was feeling sad and scared so he bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

'Night Charlie, sweet dreams.'

'Night Sam, thank you.' She murmured sleepily as her eyelids closed. Dean came along the corridor just as Sam was coming out.

'Just coming to check on you, you've been ages.'

'Yeah, I was just reading to Charlie and tucking her in.' He confessed

Dean smirked 'You really were made to be a mother Sammy, that's cute.'

'Shut up. She was upset and missing her mom, what was I supposed to do?'

Dean turned more serious 'You did good Sammy, poor kid she's had one hell of a day. She's pretty damn strong to be handling it as well as she is. I can't believe we haven't found a way to turn her back yet. It's not looking hopeful is it?'

Sam shook his head as they headed back to the main room. 'That witch was pretty powerful and the amulet smashed when it zapped Charlie, which seems to be the only way to turn her back. I guess Cas is our best hope now.'

'I'll call him. Who knows if he'll come though. He's not exactly reliable these days. Cas! We need your help with a little childcare issue if you could grace us with your presence that would be awesome.'

There was the familiar whoosh of wings as Cas appeared in the room.

'What is it Dean? I'm pretty busy so it'd better be important.'

'We think it is Cas.' said Sam, 'our friend Charlie got zapped by a witch's spell and its de-aged her by 20 years. The witch is dead and the amulet with the spell is shattered and we don't know how to help her.'

'Don't all women want to be younger?' asked Cas confused.

'That's just it, she's not a woman anymore, she's a little girl and we need to get her back. Can you help or not Cas?'

'Can I see the girl?'

'She's sleeping.' Grumbled Dean

'What I need to do to ascertain the situation won't wake her or harm her.' He reassured the brothers.

'Ok, her room is this way.'

The 3 men entered Charlie's room and Cas knelt down beside her bed, putting 2 fingers on her forehead and closing his eyes. He sat like that for several minutes before removing his fingers. He stood up and motioned for Sam and Dean to leave the room with him. When they were back in the main room Dean turned to Cas.

'Well, how do we help her?'

'We can't.' Was Cas's simple reply.

'What do you mean we can't?!' Asked Dean angrily.

'I mean the spell the witch used was powerful and its effects are permanent. Without the witch or the amulet there is simply no way of bringing Charlie back. She is going to have to remain a child. '

'Can't you do anything Cas? Can't you zap her with Angel power and just reverse it all.' Sam asked anxiously.

'I'm afraid I can't. I can age her 20 years but she would not return to her original state. Physically she would have aged but her mind and memories would still be those of an 8-year-old. If I tried anything more complicated like extracting the spell there is a high risk that I would kill her, she would probably explode in fact.'

'You mean we're stuck with the kid and our Charlie is gone for good? That's just friggin awesome!' Exclaimed Dean, running a hand over his face.

'I have to go.' Said Cas abruptly before vanishing with a whoosh of wings. Dean threw his hands up in exasperation and then raised his eyebrows at Sam.

'We can do this Dean, we have to. This is on us and she's our responsibility. She's like our little sister man, we can't abandon her to foster care or something.'

'She's more like our little kid now than our little sister. She's just 8 years old man, what do we do with her when we have a case? What do we do about school? What do we know about bringing up a kid?'

'Well, you practically brought me up Dean. You looked after me and did everything for me when Dad wasn't around, which was most of the time. I know you've always secretly wanted a family, kids, the whole works. Well this could be your chance to get close to that. Charlie is a great kid and she needs us Dean. We can work out all the details as we go along. But for the record, I think you would make a great Dad, you were already laying down the boundaries for her earlier. That's all part of being a parent.'

Dean grunted. 'I just can't get my head around the fact that this little kid is our Charlie. She was our friend, like a sister yes, but not a daughter! It's so weird to have to think about bringing Charlie up. You really think we can even contemplate this Sammy?' Dean asked seriously.

'I don't think we have a choice, we have to at least give it a try.'

'What's she going to say when we tell her she's stuck with us?! Poor kid. One minute she's living a normal life with her mom and dad and the next she suddenly finds herself mixed up in the supernatural world, without her parents and stuck with 2 men who have no clue how to look after her.'

'She's a tough kid and she seems to trust us, despite everything. Losing her parents is the worst part for her. For the rest, at least she doesn't remember being bigger, so she can't miss her old life and she will get used to us and we'll get used to looking after her. It will just take a bit of time Dean.'

'Well I'm gonna hit the hay.'

'It's only 9.30 Dean!'

'Yeah well I was driving all last night and if I don't go to bed I'm about to keel over. Anyway. little kids don't sleep in remember? She'll probably be up at the crack of dawn so we'd better get our sleep while we can!'


	3. Chapter 3 - Two men and a little lady

**Just to say, I changed the cover photo as I had a nasty message from a guest reviewer with a creepy comment about the photo I used for little Charlie.**

 **Thanks for all the follows and favs and especially thanks to those who reviewed! Hope you enjoy this one. Warning: contains spanking. I have one more mostly written, then updates will probably slow down a bit!**

Chapter 3

Two men and a little lady

The next morning Sam was up early as usual and at 7am he was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading the newspaper he had picked up the day before. He heard a small cough and looked up to see a sleepy looking Charlie with impressive bed hair looking cute in her princess Leah PJs.

'Morning Charlie.' he smiled warmly 'how did you sleep?'

'Ok, I had a bad dream but I did go back to sleep.'

'Oh I'm sorry, if you want to, next time come and get me or Dean if you're scared. We won't mind.'

Charlie smiled and nodded.

'Hungry?' He asked

'Yeah.'

'Dean is the cook around here but I can manage cereal or toast, what do you fancy?'

'Cereal please. Do you have granola?'

'No but we have Lucky Charms?'

'Ok.'

Dean still liked his childhood cereal favourite so they always kept a box!

Charlie was tucking into her cereal accompanied by a glass of orange juice when Dean appeared in the kitchen, fully showered and dressed.

'Morning kiddos.' He said cheerfully. He had obviously slept pretty well and it had done him good. 'Hope you left me some lucky charms young lady.' He said in mock seriousness.

'Nope, I ate 'em all because they are not good for grown-ups.' Charlie answered trying not to grin.

'Oh dear, then I guess there will be consequences.' Dean said sternly and he went towards Charlie, whose grin had been replaced by a look of horror.

'No, no Dean I was only joking, there are some Lucky Charms left for you!' She exclaimed holding her arms up in defense.

'Too late young lady!' Dean said grabbing her, turning her upside down and starting to tickle her belly. Charlie started squealing and laughing now that she realised Dean wasn't serious either and he only meant to tickle her.

'Stop Dean, no!' She squealed in between peals of uncontrollable laughter. Sam looked on with a smile on his face.

'Who is the best Winchester brother?!' He demanded, halting his tickles for one moment to allow her to catch her breath and answer him.

'Sam!' Charlie said with a giggle.

'Wrong answer!' Dean said, beginning his merciless assault again.

'Okay Okay!' Squeaked Charlie 'you are, you are!'

'And don't you forget it!' He said triumphantly as he plopped her back down on her seat, where she sat breathing heavily and still giggling. He went over to get his own bowl of cereal winking at Sam as he went by, causing him to roll his eyes.

'If you've finished eating why don't you get washed and dressed then come to the library. There's something we need to talk to you about.' Sam said, realising they really needed to explain to her as soon as possible that there was no way to get her back to her right age and that they were proposing she stay with them.

'Okay.' She said brightly and skipped off to her room. Dean's tickle attack had brightened her morning and put her in a very good mood.

Half an hour later Charlie found the boys in the library sat at the table and she joined them.

'Hi.' She said nervously, anticipating a serious conversation.

'Hey kiddo.' Said Dean.

'So...what did you want to talk about?' She said quietly looking anxious. Sam and Dean looked at each other not quite knowing where to begin. 'It's about the spell, isn't it?' She asked with a furrowed brow.

'Yeah. It is Charlie. We found nothing in all the men of letters archives, everything we read said we needed the witch who cast the spell or the amulet with the power inside it in order to reverse the spell.' Dean began.

'But they're both gone.' Charlie stated matter of factly.

'Yeah, so then we hoped our friend Cas...' Dean continued.

'The angel?' Charlie interrupted.

'Yes, we thought he could help.' Said Sam.

'But he came by yesterday night and when he checked you over he told us he couldn't do anything and that the spell can't be removed without killing you.' Dean explained.

'The Angel was here? You didn't wake me up?!'

'No, you needed your sleep. Anyway, that's not the point.' Said Dean getting frustrated at all the irrelevant interruptions. 'The point is you can't be changed back to big Charlie and I'm afraid you're stuck here with us.'

Charlie didn't quite know how to react. She had thought this was temporary and that things would all be back to normal again soon. She would be home, with her parents and her normal life. She didn't mind not becoming big Charlie, as she had no memory of that anyway, but now she had to face the idea that this new life was for keeps. She would never see her Mom and Dad again. She wouldn't live in her house or go to her school. She hadn't had that many friends anyway so she wouldn't miss that so much, but the thought of never being home again, never hearing her Mom's voice, never hugging her Dad, never being their little girl again, it was too hard.

She liked Sam and Dean and she felt safe with them. She knew they had loved big Charlie and they had taken real good care of her so far, but it just wasn't the same and it wasn't fair on them either to suddenly be lumbered with a little kid to look after. But where else could she go? She had no family. She would probably have to go to some kids home. All these thoughts flew through her head as she sat there at the table saying nothing. Sam and Dean looked at each other their faces plastered with worry and just waited for her to say something.

'Charlie?' Sam said gently and she looked up at him, pulled away from her inner turmoil. 'Are you ok?'

She shook her head 'I just want my Mom and Dad.' She said desperately and a lump formed in her throat. Tears started tumbling down her face and she couldn't stop them. She put her head down on her arms and sobbed into the tabletop. Dean reached an arm over and gently stroked her back.

'I know you do kiddo, I know.' He got it, he really did and his heart broke for Charlie. Suddenly she picked herself up and flung herself onto Dean's lap clinging on, like she had done to Sam yesterday when he had told her that her parents were dead. She sobbed and wailed into Dean's chest for what seemed like forever but was probably about 5 minutes, then the tears turned to hiccoughs and she pulled away and took the tissue that Sam was offering her, blowing her nose loudly and wiping her face.

'Sorry.' She muttered

'Don't be, you can cry all you want sweetheart, if it helps that is?' Dean asked.

Charlie shrugged. 'I don't know if it helps, but I just can't stop it.'

'Charlie, do you think it would help you to go to your parents' graves? We could take you there and you could lay down some flowers and say a proper goodbye.' Asked Sam.

'Really? Can you take me?'

'Of course we can Honey. Would you like that?'

'I think so. What about?...what happens now? Where will I live?' She asked in a small, frightened voice, looking down at her hands, not wanting to make them feel uncomfortable when they told her she had to go to some children's home. 'I mean it's not fair on you to be stuck with me when you didn't know this was going to, happen. You were big Charlie's friend and I'm not big Charlie.'

'You're still our Charlie.' Said Sam. 'You're our family, our little sister, you're staying with us.' Charlie looked over at him in surprise and then up at Dean, whose lap she was still on, to make sure he was in agreement.

'We wouldn't have it any other way kiddo.' He hugged her to him briefly. 'There's no way we're shoving you in some home. We didn't expect this to happen, you're right there, but it is what it is and we are not walking away from you. We want you to stay with us, that's if you want to of course...?'

Charlie couldn't help but smile as she nodded 'I think I would like that. Thank you.'

'It's the least we can do Charlie. We love you.' Said Sam.

'Well I don't know either of you very well yet, but I feel like my heart knows you deep down and I love you too. If I can't have my mom and dad back I would like to be with you both more than anything else.' She said sincerely.

'Well I've had my fill of chick flick moments for now.' said Dean gently lifting Charlie off his lap and standing up. 'I'm going to find out where Charlie's parents are and we'll see about paying them a visit today.'

'Ok.' Said Charlie. She felt better for her big cry out, although she thought it would probably not be the end of her tears.

She was right about that. That afternoon they went along to a small cemetery in Lawrence and Charlie wept as she laid flowers on both her parents graves and said her goodbyes. She was surprised to see the different dates of their deaths on the gravestones since Sam had said they had both been killed in a car accident when she was 12, but they explained about her mom being kept alive all those years and how she had made the right decision just a few months ago. It was sad and it was hard but it had helped her a lot to see the graves and be able to lay them to rest physically as well as in her mind.

Charlie had her ups and downs over the next few weeks and months. After about 5 months things started to settle into a new kind of normal for all of them. Sam insisted that she enroll in a home school programme and he helped her to keep up with her work. It was easy for her so she didn't complain too much, but she did find some of it pretty boring and there were a few arguments about assignments not done resulting in threats to take away her new-found love of The Munsters, Mako Mermaids and How To Train Your Dragon on Netflix. Generally, Sam was pretty easy going though, only school and eating were his big hang ups.

Dean was stricter with her, insisting on her doing chores around the place, insisting on decent bedtimes (he remembered how grumpy Sam had been when he didn't get enough sleep as a kid!) and insisting on politeness and obedience. He had grounded her to her room more than once, swatted her butt a few times when she had been rude and he too had taken away Netflix privileges.

Considering how they had been thrown in at the deep end Dean and Sam made a pretty good parenting team. Charlie was mostly happy and coping with her grief as Sam made her always tell them how she was feeling and talk about things when she was feeling sad. She was mostly well behaved and enjoyed spending time learning poker and pool with the boys, when she wasn't doing school work.

Sam and Dean had put hunting on hold for the first month and after that they only took local cases or one of the other of them would join forces with another hunter leaving the other to care for Charlie. Now that she was regaining her energy with her grief not so near the surface at every moment, Charlie began to feel a bit claustrophobic. She had always been a fairly bookish child, shy and a bit awkward, so she was generally happy with entertaining herself, reading a book or drawing and she wasn't one for play dates and birthday parties. So, it wasn't that which she felt was lacking, but she had done stuff with her Mom and Dad. They had gone on walks on Sunday afternoons, she had gone to the grocery store and helped her Mom with the shopping, they had gone to the park. Sam and Dean did their best to find things to entertain her, but they didn't think of the fact that Charlie might occasionally like to get out of the bunker and see a bit of natural light, that she might like to venture out into civilisation once in a while. She tried to broach the subject with Dean one morning after breakfast.

'Ok Charlie, do you have some schoolwork to do after breakfast? I'm going into town to pick up some supplies, but I won't be long. If you get your schoolwork done maybe we can play some pool when I get back. We need to work on your break. Or you and Sam can go work out in the gym.'

'Can I come with you Dean. I haven't really been out of the bunker in weeks, except to go to the diner.'

'You don't want to come grocery shopping, it's no fun.'

'I do, I used to help Mom with the grocery shopping, I like doing it.'

'Well, OK I suppose. Let me just check with Sam about your school work. He might say you have to stay here.'

Charlie rolled her eyes and gave a slight pout. 'Sam thinks that schoolwork is more important than breathing, of course he's going to think I should do schoolwork instead of coming with you!' She complained.

'Hey, don't be rude. He's only trying to help you do your best, Charlie.' Dean admonished, but he hid his smile at her comments. He totally agreed that Sam was far too obsessed with studying.

'Sammy!' Dean yelled going off in search of his brother with Charlie following behind him.

Sam was sitting in an armchair in the library looking at a book about vampires. 'Hey Dean, oh hi Charlie!' He said spying her behind Dean.

'Charlie wants to come into town with me, can her schoolwork wait till we get back?'

'You're getting a bit behind on your geography and on your biology Charlie. Maybe you should stay and do some work.'

'I knew you'd say that!' Charlie complained, folding her arms and glaring at Sam.

'Hey kiddo, less of that! Sam, can't she do that afterwards?'

'I guess so, so long as you get down to it when you get back.' Sam said sternly.

'I will, I promise.' She said excitedly and ran to put her jacket and shoes on.

Dean rolled his eyes 'Anyone would think we going to the funfair or something!'

'We should take her out more, she does spend too much time stuck in here.' Sam acknowledged. 'I should take her out running with me in the mornings. There's a nice route through the woods and it'll be good for her to start the day with some fresh air.'

'As long as you don't expect me to come. I only run if something's chasing me!'

'Ready!' Charlie yelled running into the library, beaming from ear to ear.

Dean rolled his eyes. 'No need to shout I'm right here.'

'Sorry!' She said more quietly but still bouncing up and down.

'Come on then kiddo let's get going before you do yourself an injury!'

Charlie grasped Dean's hand and they headed to the garage and into the impala. Charlie made to climb in the front but Dean just gave her a glare and she just sighed and climbed into the back.

'Strap in kiddo.' Dean ordered.

She did as she was told but asked petulantly 'How come you never have to wear your belt?!'

'Erm, well...' Dean didn't really have a good answer to that 'You'll understand when you're older.' He said with a smirk.

'That's a stupid answer!' Charlie objected.

'Hey, you want me to leave you here to get on with your schoolwork? because I will if you keep that attitude up.'

Charlie blushed and bit her lip. She couldn't get away with anything with Dean!

'Sorry'. She mumbled and slouched back in her seat, looking out the window as they drove out of the bunker and into the open air.

Shopping with Dean was quite fun, she managed to persuade him without much effort at all to buy all the best snacks. Sam would be horrified! They got Twinkies, chocolate cookies. peanut butter cups, Cocoa Pops, Pop Tarts, M&Ms, Cheetos, barbecue chips, nacho cheese and as a token towards healthiness they also got some grapes and some oranges. Dean bought all the basic milk and bread and some hotdogs, hamburger meat and a whole chicken too so Sam would not be totally annoyed with them! Coming out of the store Charlie spied an ice-cream shop across the street. She nudged Dean.

'Yeah?' He asked

'Can we go get an ice-cream?' She asked with her best puppy eyes.

Dean was used to the power of puppy eyes having dealt with Sam all these years, but he wasn't immune to them and anyway he wouldn't be opposed to an ice-cream himself.

'Sure, why not?!' He replied eliciting a yelp of delight and a giggle from Charlie.

They dumped off the groceries and then headed over to the ice-cream parlour. Charlie ordered the biggest toffee fudge sundae they had and Dean ordered their chocolate fudge mallow delight sundae which was enormous! Neither of them would be defeated and they scraped the dishes despite their brain-freeze and feeling just a little bit queasy!

'That was really good!' Charlie exclaimed with her hand on her tummy and a look of complete satisfaction on her face.

'Yeah, we should do this more often!' Dean agreed with an answering grin.

'At least once a week!' Charlie stated.

'We'll see.' Dean said ruffling her hair .'I don't think Sam will approve.'

'Probably not!' Charlie giggled, that made it all the more enjoyable as far as she was concerned. She loved Sam but he could be really strict about making her eat healthily all the time. It felt good to indulge for once.

'Ok cheeky, let's get out of here before all the groceries overheat.'

Charlie smiled up at Dean and he couldn't resist scooping her up in his arms and giving her a kiss on the cheek, suddenly overwhelmed with how adorable this Charlie was. He was enjoying mini Charlie as he thought of her, more than he would ever have imagined. Yes, she could be a bit of a handful and too smart for her own good but it was nice to have someone looking up to him and relying on him like Sam used to when he was little. He had missed that and although he missed big Charlie he knew he would have her again one of these days, once mini Charlie had grown up!

'You're a good kid Charlie.' He said fondly as he put her gently back down, taking her hand as they crossed the parking lot.

As predicted Sam was horrified when he saw what they had bought at the grocery store.

'Man, did you get anything healthy at all?!' He asked in frustration pulling out the second box of sugary cookies.

'We got grapes and oranges?!' Charlie offered.

'Well that's something. You are such a bad influence Dean!'

'What it wasn't me it was Charlie!' He protested earning a glare from Charlie.

'So you let an 8-year-old dictate your grocery shop, because she must be an authority on what's good for her?!'

Charlie grinned as Dean got told off by Sam, but her grin dropped when he told her she would only be allowed one treat a day and no more. And Dean should do the same. Dean stuck out his tongue at Sam behind his back and Charlie laughed out loud.

After that, Sam and Dean did make a concerted effort to get Charlie out of the bunker more often. She always accompanied one or the other on grocery runs and on other trips out to buy stuff needed for hunting. She also started going with Sam on his morning run, which he took slowly for her benefit. Gradually she got fitter and she was able to run at a decent pace now and enjoyed her time with Sam, except when it was wet or too cold and then she moaned and whined until Sam threatened to make her run twice as far!

Of course, being around Sam and Dean all the time it was hard to avoid the subject of hunting. They tried as much as possible to avoid talking about any cases when Charlie was around, but she was a curious child and inevitably she heard things and she always wanted to know more.

'What's a Vetala?' She asked this particular day. Sam and Dean had been discussing some recent attacks in Illinois and they bore the trademark features of a Vetala, hunting in pairs, leaving bite marks similar to a vampire. They had thought Charlie was in her room, but she had obviously heard more than they intended.

'Were you eavesdropping young lady?' Dean asked sternly.

'No! I just came to ask Sam something about my history paper.' She said indignantly.

'Sure, what is it?' Sam asked glad to be able to change the subject.

'No, tell me first, what's a Vetala?!' Charlie insisted.

'That's not something you need to worry about Honey. Let's go do your history assignment.' Sam tried again to steer her away.

'Please! Why won't you talk to me about your cases, about hunting?! I really want to know.'

'Yeah well that sucks for you little girl because we are never going to talk to you about what we do and the creatures we hunt.' Dean said gruffly.

Charlie put her hands on her hips and glared 'That's just stupid, why?! Just because you tell me about things doesn't put me in danger. I can't get hurt by knowing stuff, it can only help me if I ever do come on a hunt with you.'

Dean's eyes widened and his face grew slightly red 'Firstly, you don't talk to me like that and secondly, mark my words girlie, you are never going on a hunt with us. NEVER! You hear me?!'

'But...'

'Never!' Dean cut her off. Tears welled up in Charlie's eyes.

'Fine, if you won't tell me about Vetalas then I'll find out myself!'

'And just how do you plan to do that?' Dean snorted.

'On the Internet, or I'll find it in one of these books.' She gestured to the vast shelves full of ancient, dusty tomes around the edge of the room.

'These books are off limits to you Charlie, you know that.' Sam said in a calm, but firm voice. 'But, Dean maybe we should tell her some stuff. She is living here with us and there is a chance she may accidentally get caught up in something one of these days. A bit of basic monster knowledge could save her...' Sam tried to reason.

'I don't want her anywhere near this life. Big Charlie only got caught up in it by accident, because of Dick Roman. Maybe this time around Charlie can avoid it altogether and live a normal life.'

'I don't want a normal life, I want to do what you do!' Charlie protested.

'For as long as I have any say in it, that ain't going to happen.' Dean stated firmly.

'Well, you don't have any say in it, you're not my Dad or my Mom and you aren't the boss of me!' Charlie raged and stamped her foot then kicked one of the chairs, watching in horror as it fell sideways and knocked over Sam's coffee cup spilling the contents on the papers in front of him.

'Charlie!' Exclaimed Sam jerking his chair back from the table to avoid coffee dripping onto his lap.

Dean also jumped up, full of anger.

'I may not be your parent, but Sam and I are the closest thing you have to one and we are determined to look after you and do what's best for you. I don't want any more talk about hunting or any more of this unacceptable behaviour. You will go and get a cloth and clean up this mess, apologise to Sam for spoiling his papers and then you can go to your room. I'll be along to talk to you soon.' Dean yelled.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Charlie began, tears now streaking her face. She hadn't meant to knock the chair over, she hadn't meant to make Dean so angry and he was scary when he yelled at her like that.

'Go get the cloth!' Dean cut her off and she scurried off to the kitchen to get a cloth and some kitchen paper to clean up the mess. When she came back to the library Sam was still there trying to salvage his paperwork using a bunch of tissues and Dean was nowhere to be seen. Charlie hoped he had gone to cool off a bit before he came to talk to her!

'I'm sorry Sam, it was an accident.' She apologised in a shaky voice, trying to keep her tears back. Sam gave her a small smile.

'I know Honey. You've got to learn to control your temper though, it only gets you into trouble.'

Charlie nodded, 'I know.' she said quietly as she mopped up the brown liquid. 'What's Dean going to say?' She asked in a tiny voice.

'I'm not sure Charlie. He is pretty mad and you were very rude, so I expect the punishment will fit the crime' Sam said cryptically. 'If we had spoken to our dad like that he would have roasted our butts for sure.'

Charlie looked horrified at Sam's comment. Sure, Dean had swatted her a few times but was he really about to give her a spanking? The idea wasn't completely alien to her. Her dad had spanked her plenty of times, but this wasn't her dad. She had to admit though, she was beginning to think of Dean like that now she had been living with them for about 8 months. Dean did all the things her Dad had done, he teased her, he tickled her, he did fun stuff with her like getting ice creams, he told her off, he made sure she did her chores and he came and checked on her every night before he went to sleep, although Dean didn't know she knew that. He took care of her. Sam did too, though secretly she thought of him as being more like the Mom in this strange family set up of theirs. With the way he was gentle with her, the way he listened to her, the way he read her stories and tucked her in at night, the way he fussed about schoolwork and about her eating properly. He and Dean loved her and she knew it, so she knew she shouldn't be that surprised at them not only caring for her and protecting her but disciplining her too. It's what parents did and to all intents and purposes with her parents gone that is what they had become to her.

'You think he's going to spank me?' She asked Sam fearfully.

'I wouldn't be surprised.' Sam said and gave her a sympathetic smile. 'It won't be that bad. He's not going to really hurt you.'

'Spanking hurts.' Charlie stated simply, frowning at Sam and folding her arms.

'Yeah ok, but there won't be any permanent damage and maybe you need it.'

'Thanks!' Charlie huffed, unimpressed that Sam wasn't on her side here.

'Well you were very rude just now and you had a tantrum like a 2-year-old, which is why I've got coffee all over my papers now.' Sam pointed out. 'I think he was a bit hurt by what you said too about not being your Dad or your boss and you not caring what he thinks. He loves you and takes care of you and he doesn't need to hear that.'

'I know.' Charlie mumbled, ashamed. She had said that in anger and she knew it was hurtful to Dean. 'I was just mad.'

'I get that. Maybe start with an apology and Dean will go easier on you.'

Charlie nodded then went over to hug Sam. 'Thanks Sam...I love you.' She said, hesitating over the last part.

Sam smiled, his heart touched by her saying that, he'd said it to her before but she had never said it to him.

'I love you too Honey.' He said kissing the top of her head. 'Now you'd better get to your room before Dean beats you to it.'

Charlie scampered back to her room, worried that if Dean came and she wasn't there yet she would be in more trouble. Her stomach was in knots. She was worried about what Dean was going to do and she also felt guilty for being so mean to him. Sometimes her mouth worked before her brain was in gear, especially when she was mad. She sat down on her bed and was wondering what to do with herself when Dean knocked and then opened the door. He still looked pretty mad, but he was a bit less red in the face than he had been when he was yelling at her before.

'Hey Dean.' Charlie said warily standing up.

'Sit down Charlie, we need to talk.'

Obediently Charlie sat back down on her bed. Her heart was pounding, but she noticed that Dean seemed nervous too. Dean wasn't looking forward to this conversation any more than she was. He looked at the sweet little girl sitting in front of him and wished it wasn't down to him to set her straight. But it was and he had to man up. There was no way that she was going to be allowed to talk to them like that and even more so, there was no way she was going to become a hunter if he had anything to do with it and he would do everything in his power to avoid that happening. Yes, big Charlie had been a good hunter, brave and good at thinking things through, but there were so many other better things she could have done with her life and she would not be in the position she was in now if she hadn't been hunting.

'First of all, I am very disappointed in you for the way you just behaved in there. You were rude and disrespectful and I don't expect you to be having tantrums like a two-year-old. You are always telling us you are not a little girl, well then if you want to be treated like a big girl, you have to act like one. I don't expect you to yell and stamp your feet and fling yourself around every time you don't get your way.'

'I'm sorry Dean.' She said, tears welling in her eyes as she looked up at him. He was right, she had behaved like a brat and she didn't want him to be disappointed in her. What's more she knew her words had hurt him. 'I didn't mean what I said either. I do have to listen to you and I do care what you think. You are not my Dad or my Mom but I feel like you are sometimes and I know you do everything you can to take care of me. I didn't mean to make you feel sad. I love you Dean.'

Dean's face softened slightly at her words. He would be lying if he said he hadn't been hurt by what she had said. He really did love the kid and did everything he could to make her feel happy and safe. The fact that she told him he had no right to tell her what to do had grated. But here she was apologizing and saying she thought of him like a second Dad, well that really touched him, more than he was prepared to admit.

'Right back at ya kiddo. That's why you are not allowed to ever come hunting with us or learn how to hunt. I am never going to let you put yourself in danger like that. Besides, although you think you are really grown up, you are not. You're just a kid and that is no life for a kid.'

'But….'

Dean held his hand up to stop her going on. 'I'm not going to argue about this, this is non-negotiable.'

She looked desolate and a tear rolled down her cheek. If she was never going to be allowed to learn how to hunt then what use was she to them? She would only be a burden and she would just get in the way and be a nuisance.

'Does that mean you are going to put me in a home or something? I mean I just get in the way being here. I stop you and Sam doing your job properly. If I can't come hunting then…..'

'What?!' Dean exclaimed, not believing what she was saying. He put his hand under her chin and swiped away a couple of errant tears on her cheeks, gently lifting her face to look at him. 'You are not in the way. Sam and I love having you here and we would never send you away. You are our family. You say you sort of see me and Sam a bit like your Mom and Dad, well we see you a bit like our baby sister or even our daughter. This is your home, we are your family, Family doesn't just throw you away when it's not convenient. You help us get a bit of perspective on our lives Charlie. Please don't ever think that you are anything but wanted.' Dean said passionately.

Charlie couldn't help a smile spreading over her face and she threw herself forward to throw her arms around Dean, burying her face in his chest. 'Thank you Dean!'

'But that doesn't mean that you are going to learn to be a hunter….' He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back slightly so he could meet her eyes and held up a finger as he saw the frown on her face. 'But I guess Sam is right for once, and we should teach you the basics about what is out there and how to defend yourself, in case you ever get caught up in it, which I sincerely hope never happens.'

'Really? You're going to teach me about monsters and how to kill them?!'

Dean nodded reluctantly. 'Just to keep you safe and not so you can go out and hunt, got it?'

'Got it Dean, thank you!' she grinned.

'Which brings us back to your earlier behaviour.' Dean said more sternly again and Charlie looked down, averting her gaze.

'I said I was sorry Dean.' She pointed out.

'I know you did and that's all well and good, but I'm afraid I can't let you get away with behaving like that. It's happened all too often recently and Sam and I won't let you speak to us that way. We are adults, we are in charge of you and you need to listen to us and talk to us respectfully.'

'Ok Dean.; Charlie nodded 'I promise I will.'

'I'm afraid you are still due a spanking.' He said, feeling slightly sick himself at the prospect. He had spanked Sam a number of times when they were younger. Once he was 14 his Dad had given him the job of disciplining Sammy when he was away on hunts. He had not enjoyed that one bit, but he had done it because it was the right thing to do at the time. But that was his brother, he wasn't a tiny 8-year-old girl, who looked more like a 6-year-old. Sammy had been at least 10 years old and although he too had been small for his age, it somehow felt much worse to have to spank this tiny, sweet girl. But, it was the way he had learned from his Dad and he was not going to let her turn into the world's biggest brat because he was too much of a coward to discipline her. This was the parenting style he knew. He wasn't going to be over-critical and harsh like his Dad had sometimes been, but he was going to expect respect and obedience from his surrogate child without turning her into a soldier. If not, this wasn't going to work.

Charlie looked down again. Well, she had known that's where this had been heading, but she had kind of hoped they had worked it all out with talking instead. She was not looking forward to Dean spanking her. He was big and strong and she knew it would hurt. But she wasn't scared he would really badly hurt her because she did trust him and she knew he loved her.

'Lets get this over with then.' Dean said gruffly, patting his thighs.

'Do we have to?' Charlie said in a small voice, in a last-ditch attempt to get him to change his mind.

'I'm afraid so Sweetheart,' he patted his lap again and raised his eyebrows at her. 'If I have to lift you over my knee I will add on 5 more.' He said, sounding sterner than he really felt.

Charlie quickly scrambled across his knee, laying the top half of her body on the bed and burying her head in her arms. Dean quickly pulled up her skirt and she gasped.

'You can keep your underwear and leggings on.' He said to reassure her. There was no way he was going to strip her bare, that would just be too humiliating for all concerned. 'I'm giving you 20.' He explained, so she knew what to expect. Charlie said nothing, but just squeezed her eyes tight closed and tensed up. Dean could feel her little body tensing up and he rubbed her back.

'Try to relax, it will hurt more if you tense up.' He advised. Charlie rolled her eyes, glad he couldn't see her face. She'd like to see him relax if he was in her position right now, but she did try to untighten her muscles.

'Ow!' she yelped as Dean's large hand came down firmly, so big it covered both her cheeks. He didn't wait before bringing it down again. Not speaking or scolding her, as everything had been said, but just laying down swat after swat without pause. She began to try and squirm away after number 10 since her bottom felt like it was on fire. Dean just tightened his grip around her waist and told her to stay still. That's when the floodgates burst and she started to sob.

'Ow Dean, I'm sorry, I'll be good, please stop!' Just like Sam used to do and so he knew he was getting through to her and the point was being well made. Dean hardened his heart to her pleas and finished the punishment.

He rubbed her back and gave her a few moments to calm her tears, before he helped her up off his lap to stand in front of him, She promptly threw her arms around him and leaned into him, continuing to cry into his chest as he soothed her by stroking her hair and muttering nonsense about what a good girl she was and how she was all forgiven, it was all over, it was ok now. Eventually her tears dried up and she began to breath more deeply. Dean realized she had fallen asleep, as Sammy often did after a spanking. He laid her gently down on the bed, facedown and pulled a blanket over her. Sighing as he saw her tear streaked cheeks and blotchy skin. That had been hard, but he knew she had learned her lesson, so hopefully it was worth it.

Sam was still in the library when Dean went back out there. He jumped up when Dean came into the room.

'Is she okay?' he asked with concern.

'Yeah, she'll live.' Dean said dismissing his brother's concern and sitting down in the armchair, pouring himself a glass of scotch. Sam knew he was more stressed than he was letting on, just by the fact that he was drinking. He did that a lot less since little Charlie had been around. He knew disciplining Charlie had taken it out of him.

'That must have been tough.' Sam empathized.

'Well, I had plenty of practice with you, if you remember.' Dean smirked and noticed Sam blush in response. 'Seriously, that was pretty difficult and I hope I don't have to do it again, but I guess I probably will! She has a lot of growing up to do yet and she is far too clever for her own good not to get into trouble again before long.'

Sam laughed 'You're right there. She always was one smart cookie and her curiosity is bound to get her into more mischief sooner rather than later.'

Dean rolled his eyes 'What have we signed up for?!" he said rubbing a hand over his face.

'Come on Dean, I know you and I know that mostly you are loving being a surrogate Dad to Charlie.'

'How come I get to be the Dad, what about you?!' Dean asked.

'It's just the way it is and you know it.'

Dean chuckled 'Hey, that must make you the Mom then Sammy, sounds about right. You even have the hair for it.'

'Shut up Dean, I'm not the Mom.'

'Well, it's not an insult Sammy. Moms are the greatest, you know that.' Dean said fondly, for once complimenting his brother, 'You're the one who tucks her in, reads her stories, helps her with her schoolwork, all that Mom stuff.'

'Yeah and you're the one who makes her laugh and keeps her feeling safe and protected, as well as laying down the law of course.'

'Damn it Sammy, we make a pretty good team, but don't think about moving into my room any time soon.' Dean said with a grimace.

Sam rolled his eyes 'Yeah alright Dean, you're an idiot. Last thing I ever want is to share a bed with you.' He shuddered at the thought and Dean did the same.


	4. Chapter 4 - To school or not to school

**Probably should have said this before, I don't own Supernatural or any of it's wonderful characters, just the plot-line for this story!**

 **So here's a rather short chapter and I'm not entirely sure yet where I'm going with the whole school thing, but will try and update soon with Charlie's first day! Thank you to all those who are following and have favourited this story. Special thanks to EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester and WaywardDaughter18 for taking the time to review. I would love to hear more feedback, as it's good to know what I am doing wrong and right with the story and it really motivates me to write if I know people are actually reading and enjoying it! Please read and review!**

Chapter 4

 **To school or not to school**

Charlie was on her best behaviour following her spanking from Dean. Partly because she didn't want to go through that again; it really hurt and she didn't like being in trouble. But also because she didn't actually want to be trouble for Sam and Dean. She was grateful to them for all they did for her and for not sending her away and she didn't want to make them regret their decision. Of course, she was 8 years old and she wasn't a saint but she was determined to try her best. Sam and Dean had been discussing the idea of her going to the local school. She didn't complain about staying home and studying with Sam, although he was pretty strict and made her work hard, but Sam and Dean were worried that she was lonely and that she wasn't getting to play with any kids her age. She was based at the bunker full-time, even if Sam and Dean came and went according to the case they were on, so she could easily attend the local elementary school. They weren't dragging her all over the country with them, determined to give her a more normal childhood than they had had. Sam and Dean had discussed the idea, but they had yet to tell Charlie about it. They decided to broach the subject at breakfast one sunny morning in early August.

As usual Sam was up first and Charlie followed soon after, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she entered the kitchen. Sam smiled at the sight, she was always so cute in the mornings when she had just woken up and was all sleepy.

'Morning sweetie.'

'Morning Sam.' Charlie said suppressing a yawn.

'Lucky charms or do you want me to make you some pancakes?' Sam asked.

Charlie looked surprised, it was normally Dean who did the pancakes or scrambled egg or bacon. Basically anything that required more than pouring it from a packet or putting in the toaster.

'Maybe we should wait for Dean…' Charlie suggested.

Sam scoffed 'I'm glad you have such faith in me, I think I can manage some pancakes, it's not rocket science!' and he proceeded to whisk up the batter. Somehow it looked a bit lumpy when he was done, but he had followed the instructions, so it must be right. He glanced over at Charlie, who was watching him with a small smirk on her face. He raised his eyebrows at her and she tried to straighten her face.

'Looks good Sam.' She said with a smile, trying not to smirk.

'Huh!' Sam herumphed not convinced by her comment. 'Well here goes' he said pouring the mixture into the pan and giving it a shake. The mixture stayed pretty much where it had landed in one big gloopy lump and was less pancake, more volcano. Sam vigorously shook the pan in the hope of flattening it out, but to no avail. Charlie stifled a giggle and Sam glared at her.

'Try squashing it down.' She suggested coming to stand next to Sam and handing him a flat wooden spatula.

'Ok.' Said Sam taking her advice and trying to squish the mixture down, looking more and more defeated by the whole process. Then smoke began to rise up from the pan and there was a distinct smell of burning.

'I think you need to turn it over.' Said Charlie with a cheeky grin.

'Shit!' Sam said, 'Sorry, I mean, shoot!' and he quickly removed the pan from the gas and tried to turn the gloop over, but it was stuck fast to the pan. Just then Dean came in, fully showered and dressed, looking more perky than anyone had the right to early in the morning.

'What the heck?!' he asked, as he came into the kitchen. 'Charlie! Get back from the stove!' he ordered as he smelt the burning.

'It's ok Dean, Sam has it all under control.' Charlie said with a smirk at Dean.

'I said, get back from the stove Charlie.' Dean repeated firmly as he took her by the shoulders and gently manoeuvred her to sit on a chair at the table. She rolled her eyes as he went back to the stove to help Sam.

'Sammy, Sammy, Sammy.' He said shaking his head. 'You should leave the cooking to the experts dude. I can honestly say I don't know anyone with your skill to ruin good food.'

Sam scowled at Dean 'Yeah, yeah.'

Dean laughed and shoved Sam to the side. 'Go put in the pan into soak and I'll get to work on some more pancakes. Seriously man, stay away from the stove. It's like your nemesis or something.'

Sam snatched up the pan and grumpily took it to the sink to fill it with water while Dean whipped up a new batch of beautifully smooth pancake mix and began to cook in a fresh pan. Charlie just watched from her seat at the table.

'You're really good at that Dean.' Charlie commented.

'Well, I had a lot of practice growing up, I used to cook for Sammy and me all the time when our Dad was off working.'

'Can you teach me to cook too?' Charlie asked eagerly.

'Yeah, one of these days Kiddo.'

Charlie sighed, she knew that probably meant some time never, but she wouldn't give up on the idea and resolved to keep on asking until he gave in eventually.

'Voila!' he said putting a perfect pancake down in front of her.

'Thanks Dean. Can you pass the syrup Sam?' She asked the younger brother, who had sat down in the chair opposite hers, having finished clearing up his mess.

He passed her the syrup 'Have some strawberries too Charlie or some banana, you need some fruit in you.'

Charlie rolled her eyes. Sam was so obsessed with what she ate all the time, he didn't nag Dean so much and he was much less healthy than her in what he ate.

'Hey!' Sam said sharply. 'Don't roll your eyes at me, it's rude.'

Charlie looked up and caught Dean giving her a stern look as well, so she quickly muttered 'Sorry.' And chopped some banana onto her pancake. It was delicious and she moaned with satisfaction as she chewed her mouthful.

'Good huh?' said Dean proudly, placing a pancake down in front of Sam and putting a whole stack in the middle of the table.

Charlie just nodded. Sam rolled his eyes. Okay, so Dean could cook, but he didn't have to be such a bighead about it!

'Don't roll your eyes Sammy, it's rude.' Said Dean with a smirk.

'Yeah!' Charlie agreed.

'It's rude for you to do it to me, but not for me to do it to Dean, there's a difference.'

Charlie really wanted to roll her eyes at that ridiculous and unfair statement, but she resisted. Dean just laughed and sat down to tuck into his own pancake. Charlie helped herself to a second one, this time loading it with chocolate sauce and some strawberries. She only got halfway through before she was completely full.

'Can I be done? I'm really full up!' she groaned rubbing her tummy.

'Okay, give it here I'll finish it.' Said Dean, the eternal garbage can.

Charlie got up and started to leave but Sam called her back.

'Hold on Charlie, come back.'

'Sorry, can I leave the table?' she said, thinking he was calling her back because she left without asking permission.

'No, no it's not that, Dean and I just need to talk to you about something.'

This sounded serious and Charlie wasn't sure what to expect, so she sat back down in her seat feeling nervous. She saw Dean and Sam passing glances between each other, also looking slightly nervous, which only made her feel worse.

'It's nothing bad is it?' she asked.

'No Sweetie, nothing bad, don't worry.' Sam reassured her.

Dean cleared his throat. 'We've just been thinking that a kid your age shouldn't be spending all their time with 2 fully grown men, or overgrown men in some cases.' He said smirking at Sam who raised his eyebrows. 'We think you should go to school Kiddo and be with kids your age, make some friends, be a bit normal.'

Charlie was surprised, she hadn't expected that and she wasn't sure what she thought of the idea. She liked being with Sam and Dean and she liked Sam being her teacher too, he was so smart and he explained things really well and they did fun stuff that they probably wouldn't learn about in normal school.

'But I like being here and Sam is teaching me everything I need to know, I don't need to go to school.'

'It's more so you can make some friends Charlie, not for your learning. You're so smart I know you'll be just fine learning at home or at school, but you ought to be having fun with kids your age and socialising. You're gonna get sick of me and Dean and you're gonna be much happier if you have some friends.'

'I am happy.' She protested 'I won't get bored of you guys and I do have fun. I don't care if I have any friends. I never had many friends when I used to go to school anyway. I don't miss it, I promise.'

'Well, we're going to give it a try Charlie.' Said Dean.

'We've enrolled you in Lebanon Elementary school, in grade 4, since your birthday is next month and I know you'll cope with the work just fine.'

'You enrolled me already, without asking me?!" Charlie yelled, her face turning red with anger and her arms folded tightly across her chest as she glared daggers at the two men.

'This ain't up for discussion girlie. We just wanted to let you know this is what's happening.' Dean said sternly.

Sam gave him one of his 'Dean really?' looks and said more calmly 'Look Charlie, we just want you to give it a go and if you hate it and it's not working then we'll go back to the way things are. We think it'll be good for you.'

'That's because you aren't the ones who have to go.' She pouted. 'Please, just let me stay here and you be my teacher Sam. I promise I'll be really good and do all my work without complaining.'

'Charlie, you're going, end of story.' Said Dean flatly.

'Well, I won't do it!' she said stubbornly, standing up from her seat and stamping her foot in defiance 'And you can't make me!'

'You wanna bet?' Dean said in a steely tone. 'Let's just see about that.' And it had more than the air of a threat.

Charlie turned on her heel, realising she had lost and there was no way she was getting out of this. She flew into her room and slammed the door. Kicking over a stack of books and muttering to herself about how unfair it was and how she didn't want any stupid friends. Eventually her anger gave way to tears and she lay on her bed, hugging her pillow and crying softly.

Back in the kitchen Dean and Sam were not too surprised at her reaction. They had a feeling she may not like the idea of going to school, as she never said she missed it or her friends and she seemed to be content with just them for company. She was not what you'd call a social butterfly.

'Well, that went well.' Dean said with his usual sarcasm.

'Yeah.' Sam said with a sigh and ran a hand through his unruly hair. 'I hope a week is long enough for her to come to terms with the idea.'

'Well, she's going whether she comes to terms with it or not.' Dean said with about as much stubbornness as Charlie.

'Yeah okay Dean, calm down on the dictatorial bit. You know she doesn't respond well to just being told what to do.'

'Well, that's tough for her then, cause she's gonna have to get used to it sometimes.'

'Yeah, but she has a right to her opinion. I know we're the adults and we've made what we think is the best decision for her, but she does have the right to disagree, even if it changes nothing.'

Dean rolled his eyes 'Yeah okay since when did you become the expert on child psychology?'

'I'm not I just know how I felt about Dad always dictating everything to us. There are different ways of doing things.'

'So you're saying I'm like Dad?' Dean growled.

'No Dean, I don't mean that. I'm saying we need to talk to her and explain things, not just tell her that's the way it is, like it or lump it.'

'I thought we just did explain things.'

'Yeah, we did, but it may take her a while to digest, it's the first she's heard of it. We need to give her time to get used to the idea, that's all.'

'Yeah, we'll see. I'm not putting up with too much of this attitude regardless.' Dean grumbled.

'Okay Dean, just remember, she's just a little kid and she's gonna act out sometimes.'

'Yeah alright Mary Poppins, go take a shower and I'll clear up the rest of your attempt at cooking.'

'Shutup Jerk!'

'Bitch!' Dean called after him as Sam went off to get dressed. He could hear sniffling coming from Charlie's room as he passed by, but thought he'd leave her alone for a bit. After his shower he decided to go and check on her. He tapped gently on her door and heard a muttered 'Go away.' Before pushing the door open.

Charlie was lying on her bed reading Charlie and the chocolate factory and she glanced over at the door to see Sam's towering figure in the frame as he stepped into her room.

'I said go away.' She grumbled looking away from him and down at her book. She knew she was being rude but she didn't care. She really didn't want to talk to Sam or Dean. She knew they would only be trying to convince her that going to school was going to be the best thing since sliced bread and she didn't want to hear it. She was mad that they had planned the whole thing without asking her opinion and she was sure she did not want to go. The whole social aspect of being at school just plain scared her and she didn't want to face it when she was perfectly content with Sam and Dean for company. Suddenly she felt her book being snatched out of her hand as Sam came and removed it.

'Hey!' He said in a warning tone. 'I know you are mad about the whole school thing, but there is no need to be rude.'

She made no reply but just stared down at her hands.

'Talk to me Charlie.' Sam said more softly, perching on the edge of her bed. 'What's so bad about school?'

She looked up and met his eyes 'I just don't like it Sam. I don't want to make friends with other kids, none of them ever want to be friends with me anyhow and I can learn more being taught by you. I don't want to go, please don't make me!' She felt her eyes refilling with tears and angrily banked them away.

Sam sighed and gently stroked her face. 'We don't want you to be unhappy honey, we just want to give you the chance of being normal. It's not normal for you to spend your life holed up in the bunker with only Dean and me for company. Won't you just give it a try? You may like it this time, there may be some kid there just like you who is just waiting for someone like them to come and be their friend. You don't know Charlie until you try and you could be missing out on so much!'

'I really like you being my teacher, you make things so fun and you make it interesting. I know it's probably a pain for you….'

'No Charlie, that's not it. I love teaching you, you're so smart and it's fun for me seeing you learn new things. That's not why we want to put you in school. I'll still help you with your schoolwork and we can still work on your Latin together. We just think it'll be good for you to make some friends your own age.'

'If I hate it and if I don't make any friends, can I drop out again and go back to being home-schooled?'

'If you really give it a try and it's still not working out by Christmas, you can leave then'

'Christmas?! That's ages away!' Charlie whined banging a fist down on her mattress.

'It's one term.'

'What about if I try for a week?' Charlie tried to negotiate.

Sam shook his head and gave a small smile. 'A week is not long enough, let's say Halloween. If you really hate it and you still want to leave by then, you can leave, deal?'

Charlie nodded slowly, it seemed like that was the best offer she was going to get 'Ok, deal, but I won't like it, so you may as well get used to the idea that I'll be leaving at Halloween.' She said lifting her chin haughtily.

'Charlie!' Sam admonished gently, she really was beginning to push the limits with her cheekiness and he secretly found her quite funny sometimes, but he couldn't just let her cheek them all the time.

She gave him a coy smile, acknowledging his admonishment and Sam just raised his eyebrows before giving her a quick tickle on her tummy. She curled away from him giggling and Sam couldn't help laughing too.

'Ok cheeky, no more sulking and complaining about this okay? The deal is, you give it a go until Halloween and I mean a proper go.'

Charlie nodded 'Okay Sam.' She agreed and without warning she knelt up and flung her arms around him. After getting over the initial surprise Sam returned her hug and gently rubbed her back. 'You're a good kid Charlie.' He said.

'Hey, what's the hugfest all about in here?' asked Dean, who had arrived, looking for Sam.

Charlie giggled and Sam just turned to look at Dean 'Charlie has agreed to give school a go.' Sam explained.

'But only till Halloween…' Charlie hastened to add.

Dean looked quizzically at Sam 'That's the deal.' He explained. 'She has promised to give it a solid try until then and if she still hates it she can go back to home-schooling.'

Dean frowned, thinking it over. He would rather not be making deals with Charlie about this, he thought she should just go and do as she was told, but on second thoughts he realised that was his John-side coming out. Their Dad would never have given them a choice about anything like this and so he immediately expected things to be the same for Charlie. But he and Sam, especially Sam, had often resented their Dad for that and he didn't want Charlie growing up resenting him. Sam was right, he wanted to do things differently than their Dad had. Charlie was a little kid, not a soldier and she had a right to her opinions. He supposed he could go along with the little deal Sam and her had made.

Charlie was softly biting her lip, staring up at Dean anxiously, waiting to see if he would tell her, no way, no deal, she was going and that was that. She sighed and smiled when Dean's reply finally came 'That sounds fair enough Kiddo. But you have to give it a real solid try, got it? No deciding before you even get there that you hate it and not giving it a chance.'

Charlie smiled 'Got it Dean, I will try.'

'Good girl.' Dean said going over to the bed and stroking her hair. 'Now how about a shopping trip to get you some school stuff?'

Charlie smiled again, maybe this going to school thing did have some upsides to it. She nodded enthusiastically and jumped up grabbing Dean's hand and practically dragging him out of her room.

'Hold your horses, kiddo, no rush!'

'Come on Sam!' Charlie yelled back from down the corridor.

Sam laughed and shook his head, getting up from the bed and following after them. At least she wasn't miserable any more, he hated to see her upset.


	5. Chapter 5 - Charlie's birthday

**So sorry for the huge delay in updating this. Work, kids and Christmas took over my life and I have not had the energy, time or inclination to write. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed and favourited and is following this story. I really appreciate all of you and hope I haven't lost you all by taking so long to update! I hope to update more quickly next time! Please read and review - it makes my day to get your feedback!**

Chapter 5

Charlie's birthday

In August, just before school started it was Charlie's 9th birthday. She had always loved her birthday, any excuse for cake and fun and celebration. But this year, the first year without her parents, she just wasn't feeling it. Sam and Dean had remembered it was her birthday, as last year, when she turned 28, she had been living with them in the bunker and she had insisted they watch all 3 Lord of the Rings films with her in celebration. The week before her birthday Sam and Dean decided they should make an effort and were discussing what to do. They could tell the little girl had mixed feelings about it and realising it was her first birthday with them, at least as far as she could remember, they didn't want to just let it pass them by and not make a big deal out of it. They hated to think of her feeling sad and miserable, just missing her folks and feeling alone.

'Well, we can't exactly throw a party, she doesn't even know anybody except us and Holly, the waitress at the ice-cream parlour and we can't exactly invite her, that would just be weird.'

'Yeah, especially as you asked her out on a date twice already and she turned you down.' Sam commented with a grin.

'She's just playing hard to get. Third time's a charm.' Dean said with his usual smirk.

'Ha!' Sam scoffed. 'Well, another good reason for her to start school. It's really not normal that her only human contact is 2 hairy hunters and a 24-year-old girl. Poor Kid, she needs some friends.'

'Yeah okay, we've already established that. So, what are we gonna do then? Hey Sammy, we could take her to Plucky Pennywhistles Magical Menagerie. They do great kids birthdays there. You loved it right?' Dean grinned.

Sam grimaced 'Funny Dean. Only if we take a plane to get there.' He retorted.

Dean's grin fell slightly, but he shrugged it off.

'I reckon she'll be happy with some Chinese food and a Narnia film.' Suggested Sam

'Seriously? If I have to sit through one more film with a talking mouse I may have to shoot myself' grouched Dean.

'Suck it up Dean, it's her birthday, not yours, so she gets to choose the film and if that's what she wants, that's what she gets.'

Dean snorted 'You spoil her.'

'Why is Sam spoiling me?' Charlie asked, trailing into the living room with her book in hand and plonking herself down in an armchair.

'Never you mind, I've told you before about eavesdropping.' Said Dean, trying to sound stern, but not really meaning it.

Charlie rolled her eyes 'I can't help hearing things if you're talking and I walk in the room, Dean! Do you want me to walk around with earplugs in just in case you're having a conversation and I walk nearby?!'

Sam smiled, trying to supress a laugh, while Dean raised his eyebrows and gave Charlie a glare.

'Hey, no need to be cheeky.'

Charlie grinned 'Sorry!' she said lightly, not very convincingly and she turned back to reading her book. She was re-reading the fifth Harry Potter book and was instantly engrossed.

'So, Charlie….' Dean said trying to get her attention. She didn't even look up, her concentration drawn by the book, as Harry Potter had a dream about Sirius being hurt by Voldemort. It was Dean's turn to roll his eyes 'She's as bad as you are Sammy, it's like talking to a brick wall when she's reading.'

Sam just shrugged. 'Hey, it's a good thing that she likes to read.'

'Charlie!' said Dean, louder this time and snapped his fingers next to her ear, making her almost jump out of her skin.

'Dean!' she protested,

'It was the only way to get your attention, I've been calling you but you're off in La La land.'

Charlie frowned, annoyed at the interruption and at Dean's comment. 'What?!' she said irritably.

'Hey Girlie, watch the tone.'

Charlie was immediately contrite, knowing how much Dean disliked any disrespect and that she didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of his spankings by pushing him too far.

'Sorry.' She muttered.

'I just wanted to ask if you had any ideas about what you want to do for your birthday? Sam and I have been talking about it and have a couple of ideas, but I wanted to check if you had thought of anything before we went ahead.'

Charlie's face immediately fell. Firstly, she felt bad for snapping at Dean when he had only been wanting to plan something nice for her birthday and secondly, she felt sad at the thought of her birthday without her parents. She just wanted to forget about it.

'I don't want to do anything.' She said plainly.

'We have to do something Charlie, you only turn 9 once you know?' Sam said gently.

'So? it's nothing special and I just want to forget about it, can't we forget about it?' she said looking up at Sam and then at Dean, pleading with her eyes, which were looking rather watery.

'Sweetie, I know it's hard cos it's the first one without your Mom and Dad, but let's make it special. They wouldn't want you to let it go without celebrating, would they?' Sam asked putting a hand on her shoulder.

Charlie shrugged, but she knew he was right. Her Mom and Dad always made a fuss of her birthday, there was cake and presents and a party or a special treat. They would never have just let it go by without marking it somehow.

'We thought maybe we could all watch Voyage of the Dawn Treader and get some Chinese food. What do you think?' asked Dean.

Charlie brightened slightly. That didn't sound too bad. She did love Chinese food and the Narnia films were her favourites. It would be nice to share the time with Sam and Dean and not wallow in her room feeling miserable and it would be just the three of them, no party or having to pretend to enjoy being around lots of other people.

'That sounds okay.' She admitted, with a small smile. 'So long as it's just us. I don't want it to be a big deal.'

'Of course.' Said Sam squeezing her shoulder.

'And can I get some crispy duck pancakes?' she said eagerly, warming to the idea now.

Dean chuckled, 'Sure thing kiddo.'

Charlie grinned. She turned back to her book contentedly and was absorbed back into her story once more. Sam smiled as he watched her. She was so much like him in many ways, her love of books especially. He loved nothing more than to curl up with a good book and he and Charlie had spent many afternoons like that in the bunker, just the two of them co-existing, not talking, but comfortable in each other's company and happy to share the satisfaction of being drawn into a fictional world, where everything was more exciting, in Charlie's case, or more normal in Sam's.

'Well, that was easy.' Commented Dean.

'Yeah, we just have to think of a gift now.'

Dean groaned. He wasn't up on gifts for little girls. 'I'll leave that to you, since you're more on the wavelength of a 9-year-old girl, Samantha.'

'Funny Dean! Okay I'll handle it. You can make the cake.'

Dean grunted, but actually was secretly excited. He liked the idea of baking a cake for Charlie, he may even get creative and decorate it? Or maybe not….

That afternoon Sam decided to face his fears and go to Toys 'r' us in search of Charlie's birthday gift. He was glad Dean wasn't there to embarrass him by fiddling with all the gadgets and probably breaking half the displays. Sam wasn't sure what he was looking for, but picked up a couple of games, which he thought he and Charlie might enjoy playing together; Monopoly and Chutes and ladders. Walking down the girl's toys aisle he was almost overwhelmed by the amount of pink and glitter which bombarded his senses. He immediately saw a backpack which he knew Charlie would love and it would be perfect for taking to school. It was fluffy with rainbow coloured stripes and had the head of a unicorn in sparkly silver and pink in the middle. Dean was going to hate it, which made it all the more attractive. Sam finished off by grabbing a bracelet making kit and some new markers, as Charlie's were getting worn out. He decided he wouldn't mention to Dean how much he had spent, as he'd never hear the end of how he was spoiling Charlie- he didn't care though. Charlie had been through a tough time and as far as he was concerned, she deserved a bit of spoiling. Next stop was the book store, which was just a few stores along. Sam picked up some Percy Jackson books and a few classics, including Anne of Green Gables and Charlotte's Web, which he hoped she hadn't already read. Once he was satisfied with his haul he sought out some wrapping paper with rainbows and hearts and found the perfect card with Yoda announcing: 'Your birthday it is, 9 you are.' He headed back to the bunker feeling very pleased with his achievements, smuggling all his shopping bags into his closet before Charlie could see them or Dean could comment on the quantity.

He found Dean sitting at the kitchen table absorbed in something he was looking at on the laptop. When Sam cleared his throat to make his presence known Dean swiftly slammed the lid down.

'Dude! Not in the kitchen, you could at least go to your room. What if Charlie walked in on you?!' Sam admonished.

'What?...' Dean looked momentarily confused before registering what Sam was implying 'Get your mind out of the gutter Sammy, I wasn't looking at porn.'

'Well, why so secretive then? You weren't watching Dr Sexy MD again?' Sam grinned.

'No, not that there's anything wrong with that. It's quality tv.'

'So what were you doing then?' Sam asked, his curiosity piqued now that Dean was being so cloak and dagger about his activities on the laptop. He walked round the other side of the table to stand next to Dean.

'Nothing.' Dean blushed and nonchalantly took a swig of his beer, trying to look innocent.

Before Dean realised it Sam had grabbed the laptop and opened the lid to find himself looking at 'American Women's Weekly' website and a page all about ideas for decorating kids birthday cakes.

'Hey!' Dean protested angrily, grabbing the laptop back from his brother, who had a huge smirk on his face and was laughing. 'There's no privacy around here!'

'Sorry Betty Crocker, I'll leave you to your recipes. Wouldn't want to distract you from refining those baking skills.'

'Shut up Sammy, you're the one who wanted me to make Charlie's cake, I just wanted to make something she'd like.'

Sam wiped his eyes, still laughing. Catching his tough, hunter brother looking at a website on cake decoration was the best entertainment he'd had in ages and he wasn't going to let him live it down.

'Awesome Dude, glad you are so in touch with your feminine side.'

'Hey, don't be so sexist, some of the best chefs are men you know. At least I don't display my feminine side on a daily basis.' He said pointing to Sam's hair.

Sam rolled his eyes. He knew his brother was resorting to insulting his hair to try and deflect from his own embarrassment at being caught looking at 'American Women's Weekly' website.

'Whatever Dean. I'll leave you to your icing and sugar flowers.' He grinned and made to leave the kitchen.

'Sammy, just shut it alright?! Did you get Charlie's gift?'

'Yeah, all sorted. I just need to wrap them.'

'Them? How many did ya get?'

'Don't sweat it Dean, you stick to the cake, the gifts are my job, remember?'

'I hope you didn't go crazy. We don't want a spoilt brat on our hands Samuel. You were bad enough..'

Sam scoffed 'Dean, I barely ever got a birthday present, except for maybe a candy bar from you. I wasn't exactly spoilt.'

'Didn't stop you being a first-class brat at times though.' Dean smirked.

'Must have learned it from you..' Sam retorted with one of his famous bitch faces. 'Anyway, Charlie is not a brat and giving her a few nice gifts to make her birthday special is not going to turn her into one. She needs a bit of pampering, don't you think?'

Dean shrugged, not wanting to admit Sam was right. 'Maybe, but I don't want her becoming entitled.'

Sam rolled his eyes 'Says the man who has spent the afternoon researching unicorn cakes for his precious little girl.'

Dean grunted, trying to think of a comeback to his brothers teasing and not being able to he got up and headed for the bunker's garage, beer in hand. 'I'm going to check on Baby. She's not used to your rough handling.'

Sam just grinned. 'Where's Charlie?' he called after Dean.

'In her room, still reading last I saw her. I'm surrounded by geeks!'

On the morning of her birthday Charlie woke around 7.00. She wanted to feel excited and happy for the sake of Sam and Dean, but she couldn't help feeling just plain sad. She really missed her Mom and Dad. They had always woken her on her birthday with breakfast in bed, the tray decorated with balloons and always including her favourite chocolate chip pancakes. Then once she was dressed there were presents and cake and usually something interesting planned for the day, like a trip to the natural history museum or the theatre or to a water park. Her parents took birthdays seriously and that meant serious fun! Charlie sniffled as her mind turned to her memories of birthdays passed and she allowed herself to dwell on her grief. She was still sniffling when there was a knock on her door and Sam and Dean peered in.

'You're awake.' Sam smiled.

'See I told you!' said Dean 'Nobody sleeps in on their birthday.'

'Good morning birthday girl!'

'Thanks.' Charlie said, trying to hide her wet cheeks.

'Hey, you been crying?' Dean asked gruffly.

She shrugged and then nodded.

Sam sat on the edge of her bed and smoothed her wet cheek with his hand. 'You're missing them today huh?'

Charlie nodded 'Sorry.' She murmured looking up at Dean and then at Sam.

'No need to be sorry Sweetheart, we get it.' Dean said gently.

'We really do.' Sam confirmed. 'It's okay to miss them and feel sad, but it's okay to have fun too and we're going to try and make today a good day for you, not a sad one. What do you think?'

Charlie nodded and her lips twitched upwards for an instant.

'Hey Sam, was that a smile I saw?' Dean said in mock amazement.

'I think maybe it was Dean..' Sam agreed and Charlie allowed herself a proper smile this time.

'Hey Kiddo, why don't you get dressed and then come and have some breakfast? Don't worry, _I'm_ cooking not Sammy here.' Dean tried to coax her out of bed.

Charlie grinned 'As long as it's not Sammy's pancakes.'

'Scouts honour!' Dean said holding his hand up to his forehead in salute.

'Hey!' Sam protested and Charlie giggled.

Once she was dressed she ate a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs and of course chocolate chip pancakes. She was beginning to feel that her birthday may not be a complete wash out after all.

'Time for gifts!' Dean announced as he dumped her plate in the sink and he beckoned with his head for her to follow him and Sam into the main room. There on the long table was a big pile of presents all wrapped in pretty rainbow paper and with purple bows.

'Wow!' said Charlie and she stood with her mouth open just looking at the pile of gifts. She really had not expected so much, she knew that the boys didn't celebrate their own birthdays and she had thought they may get her a token gift, but didn't expect much more.

'Yep, I told Sam it was too much, but he wouldn't listen. Dean teased.

'Come on Charlie.' Sam encouraged 'Which one are you going to open first?'

'Are these all from you?' she asked wide-eyed.

'Yep, they're all for you from us.'

'Thank you! Wow, so many!' She walked over to the table and picked up the largest parcel squeezing it to try and guess what was inside.

Dean watched in anticipation, agitated at her slow progress in getting to the gits. 'Come on Charlie, open it!'

Sam rolled his eyes, his brother behaved like a big kid, but he had to admit he was excited to see Charlie open her gifts too. Charlie grinned and ripped off the paper – it was the backpack and as Sam had guessed she loved it and Dean's grimace confirmed that, as predicted, he hated it.

'That's awesome! It's so soft and pretty – thank you!'

'You can use it for your school things.' Sam explained and Charlie's face fell for a moment at the reminder of school, before her grin returned as she examined the bag more closely and discovered a tiny unicorn on the zip.

'Come on, open another one!' Dean said, pulling out a chair and sitting next to where Charlie was standing, getting impatient to see what was in the parcels himself.

Charlie opened all her other gifts and was pleased with them all, especially the new books, as she was running out of suitable material to read in the bunker. She immediately picked up Charlotte's Web and sat in one of the armchairs to begin reading.

'Hey! Don't get too comfortable. We're going out for lunch in an hour.' Dean explained.

'Let her enjoy her book Dean, she has time.' Said Sam. He was pleased his selection of gifts had been a success.

'Can we play Monopoly after lunch?' Charlie asked, looking up from her book for a moment, eager to try out all of her gifts.

'Of course.' Sam agreed.

Lunch was at their favourite diner. Charlie chose mac 'n' cheese followed by a toffee ice cream sundae. She loved spending time with Sam and Dean like this, where they were focussed on her and not discussing their latest case or rushing around getting ready for a hunt. They always made her laugh with their arguments and teasing her and each other. She felt happier than she ever thought she could without her folks and it felt like they were a real family. They could start their own birthday traditions and she could still remember the birthdays she'd had with her Mom and Dad too. In the afternoon the three of them played Monopoly and Dean won, much to Sam and Charlie's dismay. His ego was big enough without beating the two geeks, which of course he wasn't about to keep quiet about. Sam pulled faces behind his back whilst Dean was gloating, which had Charlie in hysterics. Of course, Dean knew what Sam was doing, but he played along for the sheer pleasure of seeing Charlie so happy.

While they were waiting to go pick up their Chinese Food in the evening Dean brought out Charlie's cake. In the end he had decided making a castle or a unicorn was too much for his skills, but he produced a delicious looking chocolate cake, smothered in chocolate fudge icing and the top of it completely covered in candy of all kinds. Any kids dream cake basically…and Dean's by extension.

'Wow Dean, thank you! It's awesome. It's the best cake ever!' And Dean glowed under her compliment, trying and failing to look modest. 'Can I have a piece now?'

Sam had been about to say 'No', and tell Charlie to wait till after their Chinese food, but Dean raised his eyebrows at him and shook his head and Sam conceded that just this once it wouldn't hurt to have dessert first. They all feasted on the cake, which was as delicious as it looked before Dean went out to pick up the food, while Sam and Charlie set up the DVD player in Sam's room.

Despite having had a huge slice of chocolate cake, Charlie was not deterred from wolfing down several crispy duck pancakes, some egg fried rice and some sweet and sour pork. She was completely full and happy as the credits rolled on the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

'That was amazing!' Charlie said sleepily, tired after a busy day, lots of food and a good movie. She was stretched out in the middle of Sam's bed on her stomach with her chin resting on her hands facing the TV at the end of his bed. Sam and Dean were sitting either side of her leaning against the headboard.

'Glad you enjoyed it Kiddo. I think it's time for you to hit the sack. You look beat.'

Charlie turned around and crawled up the bed to sit between them, as Dean fondly pushed some hair back out of her face. 'I'm not tired.' She protested, but was betrayed by her own body as she couldn't suppress a huge yawn.

Sam and Dean both laughed and Charlie tried to pout but couldn't help grinning as well. 'Okay, maybe I am a bit sleepy.'

'Hop on.' Said Sam sitting on the edge of the bed so Charlie could climb on for a piggy back. 'I'll give you a ride to your room seeing as it's your birthday.' Charlie smiled and put her arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

'Woah!' she cried as Sam stood up. 'It's so high up!' Sam cracked a grin.

'I'll come tuck you in in a minute.' Dean called after them.

Once Sam had her safely in bed with teeth brushed and PJs on, Dean arrived in Charlie's room. Sam gave Charlie a kiss on her forehead.

'Good night nine-year-old.' He said with a smile as he stood up to let Dean say good night as well.

Dean sat on the bed and leaned over to kiss her too. 'Night Kiddo. Hope you had a good day.'

'I did! It was the best. Thanks Sammy and thanks Dean. I had the best birthday ever.'

Sam and Dean's grins could have split their faces they were so wide. It was all they had wanted. They had given her a happy birthday, despite everything and it gave them even more satisfaction than resolving any case they could remember.


	6. Chapter 6 - First day at school

**Well sorry as usual for the slow update! I have some excuse this time as our household has been struck down with the Noro virus - not pleasant! This chapter has been written in dribs and drabs and I'm not sure it flows brilliantly, I have done more editing on it than any of the other chapters so far! Anyway, hope you like it. Thank you so much to all who reviewed last chapter and all who are reading and following. Please read and review - I love to get your feedback!**

Chapter 6

The day Charlie had been dreading finally dawned. She was woken at 6.00 by Sam gently shaking her.

'Charlie…wake up Charlie. It's time to get up.'

Charlie groaned and rolled away from Sam to face the wall. 'I'm tired. Just 10 more minutes…' she murmured.

Sam smiled 'No can do Sweetheart, you have to get up and get ready for school.'

Charlie groaned even louder at the reminder that she was starting her new school today. Her stomach clenched with nerves at the thought and she felt even less inclined to get out of bed than she had been 2 minutes earlier.

'Come on Charlie, it's not so bad, you'll enjoy it once you get there.' Sam coaxed.

'I won't!' she growled.

'What's going on?' Charlie heard Dean's voice now. He peered into Charlie's room to see Charlie still cocooned under her sheets and Sam leaning over her trying to get her out of bed.

'Charlie doesn't want to get up.' Sam said smirking at his brother and raising his eyebrows.

'Too bad kiddo, up and at 'em. We don't wanna be late your first day.' Dean said, predictably using a firmer tone than Sam.

'No!' Charlie whined.

Dean stalked over to her bed and signalled with his head for Sam to move aside. Sam rolled his eyes.

'Dean…be nice.' He told his brother and then headed out of the door to go get some breakfast.

'Charlie, you need to get up now, I'm not going to say it again.' Dean commanded.

Charlie just squeaked crossly and snuggled further down in her covers.

'Don't say I didn't warn you…' Dean said as he yanked her covers off the bed onto the floor and gave one sharp swat to her upturned butt.

She immediately rolled over and sat up 'Ow! Dean, that hurt and that was mean!'

'Got you up didn't it?' he smirked.

Charlie folded her arms and glared at Dean 'I don't wanna go to school, I don't feel good.'

'Nice try Kiddo, but you can't fool me. Now do I have to warm your butt up some more or are you going to get ready like you've been asked?'

Charlie huffed, but didn't dare challenge Dean any further, instead she just slid off her bed and sulkily strode over to her closet.

'Good choice.' Dean said smugly, watching as she pulled out some underwear, jeans and her Yoda t-shirt, shooting him one final glare before she went into her bathroom to change, slamming the door behind her.

'Hey!' Dean barked, not liking the amount of attitude she was giving him, even though he totally understood why.

'Sorry.' Charlie said softly through the bathroom door, realising she was one step away from Dean losing it on her butt. Dean smiled at her apology. She was learning.

'See you in the kitchen Kiddo, don't take too long.'

'Ok Dean.' She agreed, with some reluctance in her tone.

Dean strolled back into the kitchen to find Sam eating a bowl of fruit and yoghurt. Holding back his eye roll he went to the fridge and pulled out some eggs to make Charlie some French toast.

'Is she up?' Sam asked.

'Yep, just took a bit of gentle persuasion.' Dean said with a smirk, miming a slap to his butt to show Sam what he meant.

'Dean! Was that really necessary? She's scared about starting school, I don't think that's what she needed this morning.'

'Well, your softly, softly approach was getting nowhere – it got her up didn't it?'

Sam looked disapproving and Dean held his hands up in surrender 'It was just one gentle swat Sam, not a big deal.'

Sam chose not to reply and dug into his breakfast. Charlie wandered into the kitchen about 10 minutes later looking subdued.

'Hey kiddo, got your favourite French toast with golden syrup.' Dean said plonking a plate down in front of Charlie as she sat at the table.

'I'm not hungry.' She grouched.

'What? Not even hungry for French toast?!'

'Told you I was feeling sick..' she pouted.

'It's just nerves Charlie, you'll feel better once you get to school and see it's not so bad.' Sam told her.

Charlie crossed her arms and glared at Sam, who had to force himself not to laugh at the sight of little Charlie trying to look mean, but actually looking too damn cute for words.

'You don't know that! What if it's even worse than I think it's gonna be?'

'I don't think that's possible Honey, you already think it's going to be the worst thing ever, so it can't be worse than that surely?' he pointed out.

'Come on Kiddo, take a few bites and drink your milk.' Dean said more gently than usual.

Charlie's glare transferred to Dean, but she backed down a bit as he raised his eyebrows at her and she cut a small piece of French toast off and stuffed it in her mouth.

'Good girl.' He praised and she began eating with more enthusiasm as she couldn't resist the delicious sweet stickiness in front of her.

Once breakfast was over Charlie was bundled into the car with her new school bag and stationery, slouching and grumbling all the way. 'Here you go Kiddo.' Dean said as he handed her a paper bag with her lunch. 'Don't worry, _I_ made it, so it's not all rabbit food.' He smirked.

Sam frowned 'I hope it's not all junk.' He said to his brother.

'Don't worry there's a pb&j in there and an apple and don't you know, chocolate is a vegetable too Sammy?!.' He winked at Charlie who couldn't suppress a small grin. 'Have a great day kiddo.' he said ruffling her hair before closing the car door after her.

They had agreed that Sam would take Charlie to school as the first day meant filling out more paperwork, which was one of Dean's least favourite things, apart from research. Anyway, Sam wanted to take her and probably his calming influence would do more to help Charlie settle than Dean's 'Do it or else!' approach.

Sam swung the Impala into the parking lot, which was crowded with large yellow buses, unloading gaggles of kids as well as the odd parent escorting their child to the door of the large brick building with 'Lebanon Elementary School' emblazoned in large letters above the entrance. Charlie clasped tightly onto Sam's hand as they walked up the large stone steps to the glass doors. It wasn't the largest school, with only 3 classes per grade, so Sam hoped Charlie wouldn't feel too overwhelmed and would soon make friends. Sam squeezed her hand reassuringly as they approached the reception, where a lady in her 50's with glassed and a greying bob sat at her desk behind some sliding glass windows. She looked up as Sam cleared his throat.

'Good Morning.' She said with a smile making eye contact with both Sam and Charlie. Charlie decided she quite liked her so far. Sam returned her smile.

'Morning, I'm Sam Winchester. This is my niece; Charlie Winchester. She's starting here today.'

To simplify things and provide a reasonable explanation for why Charlie was living with them they had had the paperwork made up to show Sam as Charlie's Uncle and Dean as her Dad, obviously making her name Winchester. Charlie was ok with it, as it made it almost like playing a part and actually made it easier than facing school as herself. Of course, it really made no actual difference to who she was, but she liked the idea of having a different persona to hide behind.

'Oh yes, of course.' The lady said brightly and she turned to address Charlie 'I'm Miss Winters and I work here in the office, so you'll see me now and then if you have any tardy slips to fill in or need to go to the nurse or to see the Principal. It's good to meet you Charlie. I'll call one of your class mates down to show you around in a moment and you can leave your Uncle to chat with the Principal and fill out some more paperwork.' She gave Sam a conciliatory smile 'Sorry, so many forms to fill out! I'll call Principal Hargreaves now and he can meet Charlie before she goes off to class.'

She glanced at Charlie who was not doing too well at hiding her nerves right now. She wasn't sure she wanted to meet the principal and she didn't like the idea of having to let go of Sam's hand and go off to class alone, even worse than alone, with some kid she didn't know and was sure would not like her.

'Don't worry Charlie. Everyone is very friendly here and you'll soon feel at home.' Miss Winters tried to reassure her. Charlie managed a small smile in answer. Miss Winters was nice, she wished she could just stay there with her and not have to face the other kids or the teachers.

Sam squeezed her hand again and bent down to talk to her as Miss Winters disappeared off to talk to Principal Hargreaves. 'See Charlie, so far so good, she's really nice isn't she?'

Charlie nodded. 'I'm still scared about meeting everyone else though. Especially the other kids.'

Sam gave her a kiss on the forehead 'You'll do great Charlie. How could they not love you?!'

Charlie rolled her eyes but couldn't stop a small smile from crossing her lips.

'Ok.' Said Miss Winters coming back to the window. 'You can go right in and see Principal Hargreaves now while I call Marcy Davenport down to walk you to class. She'll look after you Charlie.'

'Thank you Maam' Charlie said politely causing Miss Winters to beam.

'Such lovely manners.'

Sam smiled and gave Charlie's hand another gentle squeeze, this time one of pride, as he pulled her along with him through the office door to another door marked with the Principal's name in silver letters. Sam lifted his arm to knock but before he could a short, round man with a cheerful face and balding head pulled the door open. He was wearing a blue suit and a tie with small birds all over it.

'Come in, come in!' he said jovially as he shook Sam's and then Charlie's hands. He had to crane his neck back to meet Sam's gaze, but wasn't fazed, being a short man he was used to having to look up at people, although he couldn't fail to notice that Sam was particularly tall.

'Take a seat' he said gesturing to two grey leather chairs in front of a large wooden desk strewn with papers. Principal Hargreaves took the seat behind the desk and sat facing them.

'Well, you must be Charlie.' He smiled

'Yes sir.'

'I'm Principal Hargreaves and I am pleased to welcome you to our school. I'm sure you will be very happy here. And who is this you have brought along with you today?'

'This is Sam, he's my uncle.'

'Ah yes…..' he looked down for a moment at the papers in front of him. 'You live with him and your father, is that right?'

'Yes sir.'

'Well pleased to meet you too Mr Winchester, Thank you for sending us the transcripts from Charlie's old school…looks like you are a bright spark Charlie. We're lucky to have you.'

Charlie blushed and glanced sideways at Sam who was smiling down at her.

'She sure is Principal Hargreaves.' Sam agreed.

'Ok, well I won't keep you any longer Miss Winchester. You're in Rose Class with Miss Golding. I think Miss Davenport is going to take you to class and she'll look after you from here. If there's any problems you can come to me any time. I have an open door. I just need to get your Uncle to fill out some medical forms and other boring stuff, so you head off now. Have a good day.'

'Thank you, Sir.' Charlie said in a small voice, standing up from her chair. Sam stood up too and gave her a hug, whispering in her ear. 'You'll be fine Sweetheart, I love you.' She nodded, gave him a small wave and went back out into the office to see a pretty girl with long dark hair and brown eyes waiting in the seat outside.

'Ah, there you are Charlie.' Miss Winters said cheerfully. 'This is Marcy, she's in your class and she'll take care of you from here.'

'Hi Charlie.' The girl said with a confident smile and Charlie muttered back a small 'Hi'.

'It's this way.' She said beckoning to Charlie with her head and Charlie followed on obediently. They made their way through a set of double doors and down a corridor off of the main reception. The walls were painted white, but in need of a bit of refreshment as they were chipped and scuffed from years of children navigating the halls. The skirting and doors were painted in a kind of pale orange, which reminded Charlie of puke - not that inviting.

'So…' began Marcy, once they were out of hearing of the reception. 'You're new here?'

Charlie refrained from rolling her eyes, 'what a stupid question!' she thought, but she bit her tongue and just nodded.

'Did your folks just move here?'

'I live with my Dad and my Uncle, they moved here for work.' Charlie said sticking to the story but trying to keep the details to the minimum.

'What about your Mom?' the noisy girl asked.

'She died.' Charlie said bluntly, her expression hardening at the other girl poking her nose in and her lack of tact.

'Oh, sorry to hear that. No brothers or sisters?'

'Nope. Is it far to our class?' Charlie asked, keen to move the topic of conversation along and dreading the same reception from the rest of her classmates. Of course, they were all going to be curious about the new girl, especially in a small school like this one, but she didn't want to be the centre of attention and she didn't want to have to repeat herself over and over and keep explaining about her Mom to all these perfect strangers.

'We're here.' Marcy gestured towards another orange door with 'Miss Golding' written in black lettering, Charlie's stomach clenched as she followed Marcy into the room. It was a bright room with children's posters about Volcanoes all along one side and paper flowers around a large wall of windows opposite the door, which overlooked the school yard. Standing next to a desk at the front of the room was a slim lady, probably in her 40s. She had shoulder length curly blonde hair and she smiled at the girls as they came in.

'Marcy, thanks for looking after Miss Winchester, you can take your seat now. Hello, you must be Charlie, I'm Miss Golding, welcome to Rose class. We're really happy to have you.' Charlie returned her smile and stood awkwardly next to her at the front of the class. In front of her were about 30 kids sitting in pairs at yellow tables set out in rows. They were all staring at her curiously and she was blushing like crazy.

'Okay class, this is Charlie, she's just moved to Lebanon, so she doesn't know anybody yet. I want all of you to make her feel welcome and be kind friends to her. Is there anything you want to tell us about yourself Charlie?'

Charlie's heartbeat increased even further at the thought of having to talk to the whole class, She shook her head and Miss Golding, noticing the look of terror on the little girls face gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and said 'That's ok. There's a seat free just over there next to Theo', she pointed to a table where a freckled boy with sandy hair was currently sitting alone. Charlie nodded and trailed her way over to the desk at the back of the room, not making eye contact with anyone. She slid into the chair next to Theo and shoved her bag under the desk once she had taken out a notebook and her pencil case. She looked down at her hands as Miss Golding started talking again.

'Ok, so I want you to work in your pairs and work out a new ending to your story. Charlie, Theo can fill you in on where we got to before you came in. You'll do just fine.'

Theo turned to Charlie and stuck out his hand and she raised her eyes to meet his, taking in his mischievous looking grin,

'Hi, I'm Theo.'

She smiled back tentatively and shook his hand.

'Charlie.' She said.

'Looks like we are partners.'

Charlie shrugged and nodded 'Guess so.'

'Cool!' he grinned and Charlie decided she liked him. He was friendly at least and he wasn't complaining about being stuck with the new kid.

'So, what are we supposed to be doing?'

'We have to rewrite the ending of one of these fairy tales.' He gestured to the book, which showed a list of favourite fairy tales including Goldilocks, Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.

'Okay, so which one do you wanna do?' she asked.

'You choose.' He shrugged. 'My sister is doing Cinderella, so that one's out.' He gestured over to his right and Charlie turned to look at the occupants of the next table over, one of whom had the exact same freckles and hair colour as Theo, except her hair was in two braids.

'Wow, you're twins, that's awesome!' said Charlie. She had always thought it must be good fun being a twin.

Theo shrugged and rolled his eyes 'Yeah, I guess it's okay sometimes, except for when she steals all my Star Wars trading cards!' he said this loud enough for his sister to hear and she stuck her tongue out at Theo and gave Charlie a friendly wave

Charlie grinned, she could tell the two of them were just kidding around and they really did like each other 'So how come you two are not partners?'

Theo blushed slightly and explained 'Miss Golding split us up because we were goofing off too much. That's cool though or I wouldn't have got paired up with you, would I?'

Charlie blushed 'So, you like Star Wars?' she asked changing the subject from herself.

'Love it! Only the old original movies though.'

'Totally!' agreed Charlie 'The Phantom Menace sucked big time!'

'See, I knew you were cool, soon as I saw your Yoda shirt! Soon as I saw it I thought – "Friends we will be"..'

Charlie giggled. 'Hey, we'd better get on with this story or Miss Golding is gonna move me too.' she said, realising everyone else in the class seemed to be getting down to some writing.

'So….Goldilocks?' asked Theo

'Sure…..any ideas?' Charlie asked and Theo began explaining his thoughts. They came up with a pretty good alternative involving aliens and slime monsters. Infinitely superior to the original as far as Charlie was concerned.

As Charlie sat with her new friends at lunchtime she couldn't stop smiling inside and out. She was amazed at how easy it was to talk to Theo and that basically the first kid she had met at this school was on her wavelength, not counting Marcy, who she could tell she probably didn't have that much in common with from the get go. But Theo was funny, smart and a geek like her and when she met his sister, Leah at recess she soon realised she had found another kindred spirit. Charlie nearly squealed when she heard the name, although apparently, she was named after an Aunt in Cincinnati and not the Princess and member of the Imperial Senate, whose name, Theo explained, was spelt Leia anyway – he sure knew his stuff! After all Charlie's fears and resistance to the whole school thing she was actually having fun and making at least two new friends right off the bat was something she had definitely not expected. She hadn't felt like she was missing anything at the bunker, but she had to admit it was nice to have someone to be silly with and to act her age. Despite being smart the brother and sister duo were not goody two shoes and just like Charlie they had a mischievous streak, which would probably get them all into trouble before too long.

They had also introduced her to a few other of their friends in the class, a plump boy called Marcus, who had a huge mop of curly blonde hair and seemed to be obsessed with dinosaurs since they were not only on his t-shirt and backpack but on his lunchbox and sneakers. A pretty girl called Rachel, who had brown hair in a short bob and blue eyes. She was fairly quiet, but she was friendly and it was obvious that she and Leah were the best of friends, although Leah was by far the louder of the two. And finally, Grant, a tall skinny boy with dark hair and grey eyes, who seemed to find everything anybody said to be absolutely hilarious. They all seemed like nice kids and didn't seem to object to Charlie crashing their group for which she was very grateful.

When Dean came to pick Charlie up that afternoon she was waiting just inside the glass doors where Miss Winters was supervising her and a group of others who were being collected. Theo and Leah went on a school bus as they lived in the next town over. As soon as she heard the Impala's distinctive engine pulling up in the drop off zone, Charlie pointed out the black car to Miss Winters and she allowed her to leave. She came galloping down the stone steps as Dean got out of the car. Dean smiled as she barrelled towards him with a big smile on her face. After all her angst and doom and gloom over the school idea he had sincerely expected her to come out looking utterly miserable, but the opposite was clearly true.

'Hey Charlie!' Dean exhaled as Charlie practically knocked the wind out of him with a huge hug.

'Hey Dean!' she replied as she released him.

'So, how was it Sweetheart? The worst day ever…?' he smirked knowingly rubbing the top of her head.

'It was really good Dean.' Charlie beamed.

'Yeah? So, it was a good idea to try it?' he probed, not being able to resist an 'I told you so.'

Charlie tried to glare, but couldn't help a small smile as she clambered into the back seat and Dean slammed his door and started up the engine.

Charlie chatted non-stop all the way back to the bunker about her new friends, about her teacher, about the easy math work they were doing and about her new and improved Goldilocks story, which had Dean laughing out loud. Normally Dean would have been weary of Charlie's endless chatter and breathe a sigh of relief on arriving in the garage of the bunker, but today he was just relieved that she was babbling. Babbling meant that she was happy and that was more than he thought he could have hoped for that morning when she left. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, least of all Sam, but he hadn't been able to stop worrying about Charlie all day. Sam felt the same, but hadn't tried to hide it and Dean had distracted himself by pouring scorn on Sam's mother-hen act and his fussing over Charlie, not fooling Sam for one moment that he didn't feel exactly the same.

Sam came to meet Charlie at the entrance of the garage, eager to find out how things had gone and see what kind of a mood she was in. He was instantly gratified to see a cheerful smiling face greet him.

'Hey Sammy!'

'Charlie! How was it Honey? Did you like school?' he asked immediately after wrapping her up in a bear hug.

Charlie wriggled free so that she could carry on talking 'It was good Sammy, really good. My teacher is Miss Golding, she's really great. The work was okay, some of it was even fun.'

'Yeah, wait till she tells you about Goldilocks and the slime monsters.' Dean smirked, coming along behind Charlie and ushering both her and Sam into the main room of the bunker.

'Were the other kids nice?'

'Yeah, mostly, I even made some friends Sammy. Theo is so cool and he is an expert on Star Wars, he has a twin sister called Leah and she's awesome too. They let me play with them at recess and sit with them and their friends at lunch, I think they might like me too.,,' she said with wide eyes.

'Well of course they like you Sweetheart, what did I tell you?' Sam said with a fond grin. He had been hoping her first day would be positive, but this was more than he had hoped for and he was beyond pleased that she loved it so much.

'I got some homework!' she said excitedly pulling some books out of her backpack.

Dean rolled his eyes. Charlie was just like Sam. 'Kiddo, you know it's not normal to like homework right?'

'Who wants to be normal?!' she scoffed with a cheeky smirk at Dean and Sam laughed.

'Can you help me with it Sam?' she asked.

'Of course I will Honey.' He said pulling a chair out for Charlie and then one for himself. Sam and Dean shared a grin over her head, acknowledging their shared relief that her first day had gone so well, before Dean realised he was dangerously close to a chick flick moment and he cleared his throat awkwardly and averted his gaze.

'Well, I guess I'll go get some snacks for the brainiacs.' Dean said heading off to the kitchen. Sam just smiled indulgently and focussed on Charlie's science project.


	7. AN

**A/N I am so sorry, as I hate it when authors do this, but this is not an update! I just could not contain myself - I have just booked tickets to the SPN Con in Birmingham UK on 4-6 May and I am so excited! Just wondered if there are any other British fans out there who are going? I am dragging my 14 year old daughter along for company :) Hope to update Charlie Girl soon! xxx**


	8. Chapter 7 - Knife crime

**I am trying to upload this for a second time as it came out very strange the first time with all the formatting on view! Hope it works this time! Thank you so much to all those who read and especially those who reviewed the last chapter. I hope this one doesn't disappoint. Contains spanking for those who need warning! Haven't edited this very well, so I apologise for any typos! Please read and review!**

Chapter 7- Knife crime

Charlie had been at school for 3 weeks now and she was mostly loving it. Her favourite things were her new friends, who she had grown to really love and know well over those weeks and Miss Golding, who was a really good teacher. She made learning fun and she was intuitive about her students, being able to encourage those who were less confident and help those with a tendency to take over to learn to respect their fellow students. She was kind but firm and apart from getting into trouble for talking too much with Theo, Leah or one of her other friends a few times, Charlie's behaviour was generally better than average at school as she liked Miss Golding so much that she only wanted to please her.

Her least favourite part of school was Marcy Davenport and her little gang of cronies. Charlie was pleased with herself that she had read her well the first time she met her. She was one of these girls who got away with things because she was pretty and polite in front of the grown-ups, but when it came to other children she was sneaky, manipulative and just plain mean a lot of the time. Once she had realised that she had failed to charm Charlie, she had turned against her and in the past week she had spread lies and rumours around the class about Charlie's family and how her Dad had killed her Mom. Charlie was livid when she heard what she'd been saying. She could only imagine how eager she would be to spread the news if she knew the truth of the situation! Instead Charlie and her friends tried to come up with ways to make Marcy's life more difficult wherever possible.

Theo had become her closest friend, along with Leah, since they came as a pair. Theo was clever, funny and Charlie and he shared a quirkiness which made them firm friends and allies. They spent every recess and lunchbreak together. There was a large Sweet Gum tree in the school yard, which was perfect for climbing and that was where they generally hung out, each taking a branch to lie on as they chatted, joked and laughed. That morning Charlie had managed to 'borrow' one of Sam's knives and sneak it into her school bag, so that they could carve their names and other things into the bark.

'Come on, can't we just try it?!' Theo pleaded with a grin as he finished his initials and handed the knife back to Charlie.

Charlie returned his grin, but shook her head 'No way Theo, we cannot slip a sleeping pill into Marcy's juice and shave her head. First of all, where would we get the pill from? Secondly, how could we shave her head in the middle of the lunch hall without anyone noticing?! We can't exactly drag her body out of there!'

'She's got a point Theo – your idea sucks!' Leah said with a laugh. 'Hey!' she yelled as Theo shoved her with the toe of his sneaker and she nearly lost balance, gripping her branch to stay on.

Theo just grinned 'Well, you guys come up with something then. We can't just let her get away with what she's been saying about Charlie..'

'I know, but we need to do something which will not lead back to us.' Said Leah, who out of the two siblings was often the voice of reason.

'What about if we break all her pencils?' suggested Charlie.

'Lame!' scoffed Theo with a look of disgust on his face. Charlie frowned at him.

'We could slit the bottom of her backpack so that all her books fall out when she picks it up?' Charlie tried again.

Leah shrugged 'Well, its's a start and we have the right tools for it, we would just need to get to her bag without her noticing.'

'Still think it's lame.' Complained Theo, 'The head shaving would be much cooler!'

Charlie glared at him 'Well it's the best idea we've come up with that's actually realistic, so unless you think of something we can really do and not just in your warped imagination, then I say we try this.'

Theo stuck his tongue out at Charlie but couldn't help smiling and Charlie smiled back. 'Okay, this afternoon?' he suggested.

'If we get the chance. I'll keep the knife in my pocket so I can do it quickly.' Charlie said, feeling excited and a little bit nervous about the plan.

As it turned out, she didn't need to be. It was easier than they thought it would be. When they went back to their class Miss Golding told them they were going into the hall that afternoon to play some games. So, once they were all changed into their sports kit, leaving their bags behind by their desks, they made their way to the hall. After a few moments Charlie said she needed the bathroom and nipped back to the classroom, grabbing the knife from her skirt pocket. The knife was sharp and it was easy to make a clean slit in Marcy's leather backpack, so if you looked at the bag you wouldn't notice. Charlie grinned to herself, returning the knife to her bag and going back to the hall. She caught Theo and Leah's eye and winked to let them know all had gone to plan.

In fact the plan went spectacularly well, with just the kind of dramatic response from Marcy they had been hoping for. On returning to the classroom everyone changed back into their clothes and then the bell rang for home time. With their desks towards the back of the classroom Charlie, Theo and Leah were perfectly placed to observe as Marcy picked up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder, only for its entire contents to come tumbling out onto the floor. Marcy screeched.

'My bag! What has happened to my bag!' and she began to scrabble around collecting up all her books and pencils, which had distributed themselves across the floor.

'Oh dear.' Remarked Miss Golding. 'What's happened Marcy. Did your strap break?' and she began to help the girl gather her things.

Marcy pulled the bag off of her shoulder and examined it more closely. 'No! Somebody made a hole in it.' She spluttered indignantly.

'Are you sure Dear? Maybe it just split.' Miss Golding suggested gently, being aware of Marcy's propensity for drama.

Marcy now had tears trickling down her cheeks 'No, look, somebody cut it I'm sure. Daddy bought me this bag from a business trip in Barcelona, I'll never get another one the same.' She wailed.

Charlie felt a little bit guilty until she remembered all those horrible things that Marcy had said about her and that she had said and done to others. She deserved a bit of comeuppance and it was just a bag. She couldn't help a grin at the success of their little prank.

'Marcy, you can't go blaming other people, perhaps the stitching just went. Maybe your Mom can fix it.' Miss Golding tried to reassure.

Marcy looked again at the bag and could clearly see the leather had been cut, it wasn't the seam and it wasn't an accident. Her face got red as anger overtook her. She thrust the bag towards Miss Golding.

'Somebody cut it Miss Golding, Look!' she insisted. Miss Golding took the bag and could see to her surprise that the girl was right.

'Oh dear. We'll have to get to the bottom of this. That was a very unkind thing to do.'

Charlie, Theo and Leah were watching on, as were the rest of the class, but they were the only three with big grins on their faces. Marcy looked straight at them and she knew right away who the culprit was and she was furious.

'I know who it was Miss Golding, it was Charlie, Theo and Leah. They have always had it in for me and now they've done this.' She said making herself out to be the victim and forcing out a few more tears.

'Now, Dear you can't go around blaming others without any facts. You don't know it was them.'

'Yes, I do! They're laughing. I know it was them.'

'We're not laughing Maam.' Leah complained.

'Okay, could everybody please sit back in your places. This is very serious. I will not have people destroying other people's property and playing nasty pranks on each other in this class. I'm afraid I'm going to have to have a look in all your bags because whoever did this must have had a sharp implement to do it and it might still be with them.'

Everybody groaned and sat down. It has home time and everyone just wanted to leave. Charlie's heart was pounding. The knife was in her bag and unless someone else had a knife on them, which was unlikely, it was going to be pretty obvious who the culprit was and she wouldn't have let someone else take the flak anyway. 'How stupid!' She thought to herself. Of course, they weren't just going to get away with this, it would be obvious someone had cut the bag and they would want to find out who. If only she had thought of hiding the knife somewhere less obvious than her own bag! She glanced at Theo, who was also looking pale and nervous and he just gave her a wide-eyed look. 'Sorry!' he mouthed to Charlie.

Charlie shook her head 'Not your fault.' She mouthed back. Then she did the only thing she could think of doing at that point. She raised her hand. Miss Golding was just checking Ben Corbin's bag in the front of the class and she looked over to Charlie.

'Yes Charlie?' she asked.

Charlie's face turned bright red and she stood up, gulping down the lump of fear in her throat. 'It was me Miss Golding. I did it.' She confessed. She retrieved the knife from her bag and held it up to show Miss Golding and then looked down at her hands, not wanting to see the disapproval of the teacher she liked so much.

'See! I knew it!' Marcy said triumphantly, 'She's always had it in for me Miss Golding, she's always saying mean things about me and picking on me.'

'That's not true!' Charlie exclaimed, piqued by the injustice of it all. All the things that Marcy had been saying and doing to her this past week or so and yet Charlie was the one getting into trouble for her one prank. Admittedly it hadn't been a very good idea or a nice thing to do, but in her opinion Marcy deserved that and more and she wasn't going to stand there and let her tell lies about her to Miss Golding. 'I did the bag Maam, but nothing else. It's Marcy who's been saying mean things about me.' Charlie looked up at Miss Golding, her heart sinking at the disappointment she saw on her face.

'Okay girls, I think we need to sort this out, there's obviously more to this than meets the eye. Class, everybody else can go home. Marcy and Charlie, you stay behind and we'll get your parents to come and talk with us about what's been going on.' Charlie's heart sunk even further. What were Dean and Sam going to say? They would not be happy and that was an understatement.

'Miss Golding, it was my idea too.' Theo piped up. 'Not just Charlie's. It's true what she said, Marcy has been saying mean things about her.'

Charlie felt a wave of gratitude sweep over her at her friend's loyalty and courage. As Miss Golding's gaze swept away from him back to Charlie she saw him indicate frantically for Leah to stay seated. There was no need for her to get herself into trouble as well.

'Well, thank you for speaking up Theo. I'll talk to you tomorrow about your involvement, but since Charlie is the one with the knife and the one who cut the bag, I need to speak to her and her father first. And as there are obviously two sides to this story I will also speak to Marcy's parents. For now, you and Leah can go Theo.'

Theo nodded and somewhat reluctantly hauled his bag up onto his shoulder and gave Charlie an apologetic look as he left the classroom, followed by his sister. They felt terrible leaving Charlie to take all the punishment for what had been a joint prank, but there was nothing else they could do. Charlie managed a small smile in an attempt to reassure them that she didn't blame them.

'Okay girls, I need to go and speak to Principal Hargreaves about all this, so follow me. I'll also get Miss Winters to call your parents. How are you getting home today?' she asked as they made their way along the corridor to the office.

'My Dad is picking me up.' Charlie said, her heart fluttering and her stomach churning at the thought of Dean's reaction to her being in trouble. He was always keen for her to stay under the radar, to not draw attention to herself, since the paperwork making her his daughter was not exactly bona fide and the last thing they needed was to get any extra attention from the school, or worse from child protective services.

'Okay, well Miss Winters will call his cell phone and he can come and meet you at the Principal's Office, instead of collecting you out the front of school. What about you Marcy?'

'Daddy is away, Mom is busy, so I was getting the bus home.'

'Okay, well Miss Winters will call your mother and she will have to come and collect you.'

Marcy folded her arms over her chest. 'She won't come.'

'Well, she will have to Marcy.'

'She's getting her hair done. She won't be finished till 5.00.'

'Well, you'll have to wait for her then.'

'It's not fair Miss Golding, I didn't do anything.' Marcy complained again as they reached the reception area.

'It sounds like there are a few problems to work out between you and Miss Winchester, so we will talk about it with Principal Hargreaves.'

Marcy pouted, but she didn't say any more. Miss Golding took them through to the seating area between Miss Winters office and Principal Hargreaves office and indicated for them to sit down on the chairs. Miss Golding went off to speak to Miss Winters and Marcy took the opportunity to vent some of her anger to Charlie.

'You just wait Charlie, I'll get you back for this.' She snarled in a whisper.

Charlie just stared back at her, feigning disinterest, although her heart was actually beating nineteen to the dozen and she was scared. Not so much scared of Marcy though, more of being in trouble with Principal Hargreaves, who she really liked and respected and also of letting Dean and Sam down. She knew they would be really angry and disappointed and that thought almost made her physically sick.

Miss Golding soon came back and escorted them to Principal Hargreave's office, rapping firmly on the door. As they were waiting for a reply Charlie heard some familiar heavy booted footsteps and a gruff voice talking to Miss Winters and then Dean was ushered in. Charlie avoided making eye contact as he came and stood next to her.

'What's going on?' he asked in his deep voice and Charlie could hear a hint of anger underneath.

'Hello Mr Winchester, thank you for coming in. There was an incident this afternoon involving Charlie and Marcy. If you'd like to come into Principal Hargreave's office I am hoping we can get to the bottom of it.'

'Okay Maam.'

Miss Golding pushed the door open, having been called in by Principal Hargreaves and they all filed into his office. Charlie chanced a glance up at Dean's face as they moved into the office and almost started crying at the stern look he was giving her. Principal Hargreaves was his usual jovial self, but serious with it.

'Come in girls, Miss Golding, Mr Winchester. Do take a seat. Girls you'll have to stand.' There were only 2 chairs in front of the desk where Principal Hargreaves sat, so the two adults sat, while Charlie stood to the side of Dean and Marcy on the opposite side, next to Miss Golding.

'So, Miss Golding, please can you explain what's been going on this afternoon.'

'Well, when Marcy was about to leave at home time today she discovered that somebody had deliberately cut the bottom of her backpack so that all the books fell out and her bag is ruined.' Charlie felt Dean tense up beside her, as he jumped to the obvious and correct conclusion that it must have been Charlie who had done the deed.

'Charlie admitted that it was her who had cut the bag and showed me the knife she had used to do it. However, it seems there have been other incidents which led up to her cutting the bag and I think we need to find out what's been going on to avoid any more problems.' Miss Golding explained.

'I agree.' Said Principal Hargreaves. 'Now, Charlie. It was obviously the wrong thing for you to damage Miss Davenport's bag and also to have a knife with you in school. But I would like to hear your explanation and the reason you think you have for behaving like this.' He spoke gravely but calmly and Charlie was reassured that he would actually listen to what she had to say, even if he wouldn't accept that as an excuse for doing what she did.

'You see Marcy has been spreading mean lies about me…' Charlie began.

'I have not!' Marcy protested before Miss Golding shushed her.

'You will get your chance to speak Miss Davenport.' Principal Hargreaves said firmly 'Carry on Miss Winchester.'

'So, Marcy has been telling everyone that my Dad killed my Mom and that's why I don't have a Mom and why we had to move here.'

Principal Hargreaves looked shocked and glanced over to Marcy, who was not making eye contact.

'Your turn Miss Davenport, is this true?'

'No!' she exclaimed 'She's lying. I'm always nice to her, she just doesn't like me…'

'Actually, Theo Gordon did back Charlie up, he said that Marcy had been saying mean things about Charlie.' Miss Golding added.

'I see.' Said Principal Hargreaves. He had a lot of experience with children over the years and he had met many children like Marcy Davenport, who would lie and manipulate, not caring as long as they came out on top. He could tell Charlie was different and he knew who was telling the truth, even if he could not prove it.

'So Charlie, how does this explain how you came to be in the possession of a knife and have the idea to cut Miss Davenport's bag?'

Dean grunted 'Yeah, I'd like to know that too Charlie, how come you had a knife?'

Charlie cleared her throat and twisted her feet on the floor nervously, avoiding eye contact with Dean. 'I took the knife from Sam's desk drawer. It was just for carving our names on the tree, but then we wanted to do something to Marcy because of all the mean things she said about me, but also the mean things she does to other kids in the class. She's always saying bad things and making trouble for others. We just wanted her to see how it feels. So, we came up with the idea of cutting her bag to make all her things fall out. It was kind of a joke.'

'When you say 'we'..?' Principal Hargreaves asked.

Charlie inwardly cursed herself for bringing her friends into this by not thinking, 'I mean 'I'.' she corrected.

'Theo did admit he was in on the plan.' Miss Golding explained. 'I suspect Leah Gordon was as well.'

'Yes, I expect so.' The principal agreed. 'Okay so, although I do understand and I do believe you about what Miss Davenport has been saying and doing, that does not in any way justify your actions today Miss Winchester.' His eyes burned into Charlie. He may be a gentle and kind man, but his gaze was anything but when admonishing a student. 'It is never allowed for a student to bring a knife into school. You could injure yourself or others inadvertently. It is also never allowed for one student to damage the property of another. That is not acceptable, however provoked you may have been. If another student is being mean you talk to a teacher or you come to me.' Charlie's face reddened even further.

'Yes Sir.' She said 'I'm sorry.'

'Thank you, Charlie, I know you are. I would like you to apologise to Marcy for damaging her bag and you will pay for a new bag. You will write an essay about knives and why they are dangerous. 1,000 words at least, to be on my desk by the end of the week. You will also have detention at recess for the next week. Is that all understood Miss Winchester?'

Charlie nodded. 'Answer him verbally.' Dean reminded her gruffly.

'Yes, I understand Principal Hargreaves.' Biting her lip, she thought she'd better get the worst part of the punishment out of the way straight off. 'Marcy, I'm sorry for damaging your bag.' She said as sincerely as she could, making eye contact with the pretty blonde girl, who she truly despised. Marcy gave her a false smile in return.

'My bag is from Barcelona, she can't replace it.' Marcy said smugly.

'I will ask your father how much Miss Winchester needs to pay to recompense you, don't worry Miss Davenport. I think your Mother is on her way and then I will be able to explain the situation to her and to discuss your own punishment.'

'But…' scoffed Marcy indignantly, but was cut off by Principal Hargreaves.

'Thank you girls, you may leave now. Marcy, you can wait outside the office till your mother arrives. I will just have a little chat with Miss Golding. Thank you for your time Mr Winchester, hopefully the next time we meet will be under better circumstances.' Principal Hargreaves said with a warm smile, standing up to shake Dean's hand.

'I sure hope so. I'm sorry for what Charlie did, be assured I will be talking to her about it.' Dean replied, liking the little man, despite his overriding feeling of anger at Charlie right then.

'Thank you, Mr Winchester, I know you will.'

'If only talking was all he was going to do.' Charlie thought to herself. She had a very strong feeling that Dean's hand and her butt would have a large part to play in the 'conversation'. Dean grabbed her hand as they walked out of the office and she could almost feel his anger buzzing through his body. She just had time for one last glare at Marcy before she was dragged away from the reception and out of the glass doors.

'I'm sorry Dean.' She said in a small voice, as soon as they were out.

'Stop talking, I don't want to hear it. I am so mad right now I might say or do something I regret. If you want to survive the journey home with the ability to sit, then I would shut my mouth if I were you.'

Charlie didn't need telling twice. She clamped her mouth firmly shut and followed meekly behind Dean, practically having to run to keep up with his angry pace. He opened the rear door of the Impala and she climbed in, squeaking as Dean took the opportunity to land one, smart swat to her rear. Charlie wasn't surprised but the sting was sharp and tears sprung to her eyes. They drove home in silence and Dean didn't even put his music on, which was a sure sign of his fury. He drove at breakneck speed, only slowing once he reached the tunnels of the bunker and carefully parking Baby next to a blue Pontiac. Charlie had spent the entire journey trying to think of anything to say to make things better for herself, but she had come up with a blank. As Dean brought the Impala to a stop she tensed even further in anticipation of what was to come.

'Out you get!' Dean commanded as he glanced at her in the rear-view mirror and opened his own door to get out. Charlie quickly obeyed scrambling out and shutting the door carefully behind her. She threw her backpack over her shoulder and sniffled back some errant tears as she followed Dean who went straight to the library, where Sam turned from his usual position at the laptop, to greet them.

'Hi guys, you're late.' Then noticing Charlie's tears 'Hey, Charlie is everything okay, what's up?' He stood to draw her into a hug, but Dean's voice stopped him.

'She's in trouble, that's what. Don't mollycoddle her Sam. Charlie go to your room and wait for me.' Charlie fled the room with a sob, after briefly glimpsing the look of surprise on Sam's face.

'Hey Dean, calm down, what happened?' he asked turning to his angry brother, who proceeded to explain the situation.

Charlie flung herself on her bed, no longer able to control her tears. She was crying out of worry at what Dean was about to do, out of delayed fear for being sent to the Principal's office, out of anger for the trouble that that awful girl Marcy had got her into and out of sorrow for letting Dean and Sam down, as well as Miss Golding. She felt dreadful and in one way she didn't care if Dean did spank her because she didn't think she could actually feel any worse anyway. She hoped that Marcy was getting into trouble for what she had said, at least Principal Hargreaves did seem to believe her. She was pretty sure though that Marcy would not be getting the same reception as her at home. She got the impression that Marcy's parents were too busy to care too much about what Marcy was up to. Maybe that was why she was such a bitch. Nobody loved her very much, despite the nice clothes and the bag from Barcelona. Charlie was jolted out of her thoughts by a sharp rap on the door.

She rolled over and sat up on her bed as Dean pushed her door open and was followed by Sam, who looked uncharacteristically stern and whose arms folded tightly across his chest, mirrored Dean's. Charlie swallowed and wiped her cheeks with her hands, not wanting to show them she'd been crying, although it was pretty obvious.

'Well Little Girl, we are both extremely disappointed in you.' Dean began and the lump immediately returned to Charlie's throat. She nodded in acknowledgement of what he had said. 'Sam, do you want to talk about the knife?'

Charlie blushed and looked over to Sam, realising that taking his knife was a direct offence against him. He looked sterner than she had ever seen him.

'Charlie, what have I told you about any weapons here in the bunker?'

'Not to touch them.' She muttered.

'Talk properly!' Dean commanded. He was not in the mood to let her get away with anything.

'You said not to touch them.' Charlie repeated.

'Why?'

'Because they are dangerous and I could hurt myself.'

'Or even kill yourself Charlie, you do realise that?'

Charlie nodded as a couple of tears escaped her eyes unbidden.

'Pardon?!' Dean growled, reminding her of the need for a verbal response, which he always insisted upon when she was in trouble.

'Yes Sam.'

'So why did you think it was okay to take one of my knives?' Sam said, his voice rising slightly, as he thought of what could have happened if she had handled it wrong.

'Sorry Sam, I just wanted it to carve our names on the tree at school. It wasn't to hurt anyone….' Charlie began.

'I don't care!' He yelled, making Charlie jump and her breath catch in her throat. Dean was the one for yelling, not Sammy. She knew she must really be in deep if Sam was yelling too. 'Don't touch means don't touch,I don't care if you need to perform a tracheotomy- you never touch the weapons unless we say you can and one of us is with you, got it?'

'Yes Sam.' Charlie replied trying to control her wobbling lip.

'This is not news to you Charlie, I already told you this and yet you completely ignored me and took the knife anyway. You not only stole it but you took it to school where it could have hurt not just you, but any of the other kids, that's not okay.'

'I didn't think about that Sammy, I'm sorry, really.' Charlie pleaded through her tears, she hated Sammy being this mad at her. 'I promise I will never do it again.'

'Too right you won't. I want you to write me 200 lines 'I will not touch any weapons and I will not put other people in danger.'

'But I already got an essay to write for Principal Hargreaves, I guess Dean didn't tell you..'

'Yes he told me.' Sam said, unmoved.

'Oh.'

'Consider yourself lucky, anything like this happens again, you'll be going over my knee before you go over Dean's.'

Charlie blushed and nodded, averting her eyes for a moment and then looking up as Sam moved towards the door. 'I'll leave you to it.' He said to Dean giving Charlie a small nod before leaving and closing the door behind him.

'Okay Kiddo, I think you know what you did to that girl today was wrong, am I right?'

Charlie's heart felt a bit lighter at Dean's tone. He was calling her Kiddo, which meant he maybe didn't completely hate her and he wasn't yelling any more.

'Yes Dean, I know it was stupid.' She admitted.

'I get that she was being a jerk to you and what she said was totally out of line, but you never take things into your own hands like that. Something like that happens again, you tell me or Sammy and we take it to the teacher or you tell the teacher straight out. We didn't know this was going on, why didn't you tell us?'

Charlie shrugged. She honestly didn't know why she hadn't told them. They were dealing with more important life-changing, even world-changing stuff. Basically, she thought that she and her friends could handle it. 'I don't know Dean, I thought I could sort it out myself. I didn't want to bother you and Sam.' Charlie looked down at her feet feeing ashamed at her stupidity. Sometimes despite her big brain she could be really dumb.

'Hey.' Dean said lifting her chin with his hand. 'If it's about you it's never a bother, understand? We want to help you if you need it and we want to know if something like this is going on. Next time talk to us before going and doing something so dumb.'

Charlie gave a small smile. Even when he was being firm Dean still somehow managed to be reassuring. 'You are not going to make a habit of pulling stupid stunts like this. If I ever have to be called in to see the principal again for something so dumb you won't be able to sit for a week…as it is you'll probably find it pretty uncomfortable tonight and tomorrow.'

'Deaaaann!' Charlie whined embarrassed at the mention of her spanking.

'Well you can't say you haven't earned it Kiddo. Shall we get this show on the road?'

'Dean, do you have to? I promise I will never do anything like this at school again. I know it was stupid and I've learned my lesson.' Charlie pleaded giving Dean her full-on doe eyes.

'Nice try Sweetheart, but you've got it coming and I ain't gonna let you get away with it that easy.' Charlie gave a shuddering sigh, but Dean ignored her as he pulled out her desk chair into the middle of the room and sat down. He raised his eyebrows at Charlie indicating that she could come to him. Charlie just whined and fidgeted on the bed.

Dean's face hardened. 'Charlie, get your little ass over here now or I'll be adding more swats.' Charlie jumped up in alarm, that was the last thing she wanted. She went and stood beside Dean looking down at her hands. She hated this. 'Okay Charlie, why are we doing this?' Dean asked.

'Because I pulled a stupid prank and got in trouble at school and I didn't tell you or Sammy about what Marcy was saying.'

'And?' Dean prompted.

Charlie looked confused for a moment then realised what Dean was getting at. 'Oh yeah and I took a knife.'

Dean nodded, satisfied that she understood why she was getting punished. Without further warning he pulled her over his lap so that her hair was grazing the floor and she held on to the chair legs to avoid slipping off. Dean lifted her skirt and after a second's hesitation quickly yanked down her leggings and underwear too, so for the first time she was bare.

Charlie gasped in surprise. She wasn't more embarrassed than she would be with her real Dad, but she was surprised as Dean had always at least left her underwear in place before. 'Dean…' she whimpered.

'After that long list of misdemeanours I think you've more than earned this, don't you, little girl?'

Charlie slumped in resignation 'Yes Dean.' She murmured. Maybe she had earned it, but she wasn't happy about it.

'Okay then, 20.' Was all Dean said before he laid down the first stinging swat. Charlie couldn't help but give a yelp as she felt the sharp pain much more keenly than usual on her bare skin and the sound was much worse too. Dean didn't give her too much time to dwell on it though as he brought his hand down quickly, alternating from cheek to cheek and distributing the strikes from the top of her cheeks to the top of her thighs. Charlie could feel the burn growing as Dean reached 12 and she cried out pitifully, trying to push herself up. 'Ow Dean, no more!...'

'Stay still!' He said gruffly and put a firm hand on her back to hold her in place. He hated when she begged him to stop, but he had to harden his heart and finish what he started if he was going to get the message through. He almost stopped when she began to sob loudly, but steeled himself to finish, although the final few swats were probably softer than originally planned. Charlie stayed over his lap while he pulled her underwear and leggings gently back in place. Her sobs died down to sniffles and then shudders and she allowed Dean to lift her up onto his lap, with her bottom dangling between his thighs. She held onto him shoving her face into his shoulder and grasping her small arms around his neck as he gently rubbed her back and made soothing sounds, reassuring her it was all over and everything was forgiven. She sighed heavily and relaxed against him, almost falling asleep.

'Okay Sweetie, don't go to sleep just yet. I'm going to make some dinner while you make a start on that essay for Principal Hargreaves, or you could do some of your lines.' Dean smirked. Charlie groaned and clung on tighter.

'Uh-uh. None of that, you've got work to do.' Dean smiled tickling her sides, which made her loosen her fingers and standing her up. She winced slightly as her leggings and underwear chaffed her butt.

'Do I have to?' She whined 'I'm sleepy and I don't want to sit on a chair, my butt hurts.'

'I'm sure.' Dean smirked. 'Here.' He said handing her a pillow off her bed 'this should help. Come on out to the library and I'm sure Sam will let you use his laptop.'

Charlie sighed and hugged the pillow to her, following Dean. Sam was sat in an armchair predictably reading a lore book. He looked at Charlie. 'Okay Honey?'

Charlie smiled, relieved that he no longer seemed to be angry and her soft and gentle Sammy was back. 'Kind of.' She pouted and blushed. 'My butt hurts.'

Sam laughed. 'Hey!' Charlie exclaimed 'it's not funny!'

'Sorry Sweetie, it's just your face! and honestly if your butt doesn't hurt then Dean didn't do his job right.'

She put her pillow on a chair and huffed pointedly turning her back on him as she sat in front of the laptop. Sam smirked but stood up and hugged Charlie from behind, kissing the top of her head. 'Sorry. You deserved it….' Charlie frowned..'but I know it hurts. It will feel better tomorrow. Try and get some of your essay done and when all your punishments are through we can put this behind us.'

'Okay Sammy. Can I use the laptop?'

'Of course, only for researching your essay though. You're grounded from Netflix and computer games for the next week.' Sam added in passing.

Charlie groaned again. She would definitely think twice about pulling another stunt like the one she had today if this was what it was going to be like. The punishments were piling up!

'Look on the bright side, it will give you more time to write your essay and do your lines.' Dean added with a smirk as he came in on the tail end of the conversation.

'Sometimes I hate you two!' Charlie complained.

They laughed and she couldn't help a smile. Yes they were hard asses when it came to doling out punishments, but she knew that they loved her and gave a damn about her life. That was worth a lot. She almost felt sorry for Marcy…..but not quite.


End file.
